Tough as They Come
by Radioactive88
Summary: Sometimes the unlikeliest of friendships are the ones that never can be broken. That's never seemed more true for the trio of Echo Curtis, Kiki Mathews, and Kristina Winston. They'll have to take on everything life throws their way, but come hell or high water, they've got each others' backs. But it won't be easy, because trouble just has a way of finding them...
1. Trouble's Calling My Name

**A/N: People of the world, whazzup? One of our favorite books** ** _ever_** **is the Outsiders, so we decided to write a fanfiction about it! Now, we know that a number of people dislike Outsider sister fics, so if you're one of those people, this is not the story for you. In this story, there is a Curtis sister, a Winston sister, and a Mathews sister (we know that the Mathews one is canon, but obviously not the specific character we wrote for her). This story takes place** ** _after_** **the whole church incident, and we have altered the plot in the way that Johnny and Dally are alive, and Johnny can walk. Now, we have the UTMOST respect for everything in the original plot and we love everything about it (though it did break our hearts when Johnny and Dally . . . y'know) but this story was created with our desire to give them futures and see how it all unfolds. If you don't like when people alter the original plot, then this is probably not the story for you.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long author's note! We don't own anything about the amazing Outsiders, but please read, review, and enjoy our story! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 1: Trouble's Calling My Name**

 **Echo's Perspective**

My name's Echo Holly Curtis. _Echo_. Not Brenda or Susie or Mary, but _Echo_. My daddy always told me that when I was born, my shrill cries pierced the walls of the room and _echoed_ across the hall. Or something like that.

My daddy was a strange man- loveable and sweet and kind, but strange. Hell, my name might be Echo but my second oldest brother's name is Sodapop and my third oldest brother's name is Ponyboy. I got off easy.

My daddy's name was Darrel and my ma's name was Holly- _was_. They were killed in a car wreck more than a year ago, smashed by a train.

My parents were wonderful. Everybody loved them- _everybody_. Even the meanest, angriest, toughest _and_ tuffest hood I knew, Dallas Winston, adored them. My daddy was a handsome man with almost black hair and dancing brown eyes. My older brother, Darry, looks _just_ like him but Soda has his eyes. I have his eyes, too and it makes me real proud.

Ma was golden. She had long, beautiful waves of blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Darry has her eyes but Soda's the one who looks so much like her. Pony and I are the odd ones out, we don't look like our parents or our older brothers.

Pony has this rich reddish-brown hair and green eyes (he says his eyes are gray, but they're green, he just won't admit it 'cause Pony's the most stubborn person I know) and he had to bleach his beloved tuff hair blond a few months back (long, _long_ story).

Now, I have long orange-red hair. Redder than Pony's; I'm considered the "redhead" of the family. My ma's ma had red hair, so maybe that's where it's from. It looks like fire in the sun.

Anyway, I'm the youngest of all them: thirteen-years-old, more than a year younger than Pony. It's been especially hard for me after daddy and ma died because ma was the only woman in the house to help me ward off all the testosterone- now I was damn near drowning in it. And it's not like I could talk to Darry or Soda or Pony about any issues I could be having because they plain just wouldn't dig.

Anyway, I was walking home from school on my lonesome 'cause today was the last day of the seventh grade and I wanted to feel the sunshine . . . or mainly because Two-Bit was too impatient to wait for me because I was busy talking to some friends.

"Echo, wait up!" I screeched to a stop and waited for my best friend, Kiara (everybody calls her Kiki) Mathews to hustle over. Her rust-colored hair was falling out of its usually impeccable braid and she panted for breath, her pale cheeks flushed. Her gray eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "It's finally summer!"

"Two-Bit forgot you too?" I asked dryly, cocking an eyebrow as the aforementioned flake taught me how to do. "I was annoyed he forgot me, but forgetting his own sister's kinda shitty."

She shrugged it off. "It's Two-Bit. I don't expect anythin' else."

"Thanks for leavin' me behind!"

I grinned and spun around, a playfully pissed off Angela Shepard displayed in front of us. "Sorry, Angel," Kiki apologized but I just rolled my eyes.

Now, here was the gist of it. Kiki was a goodie goodie, and dressed rather conservatively. Skirt always at or past the required length, no unnecessary skin showing, no piercings, etc. After my parents died, I found myself a little more rebellious than before and dressed a little more openly (much to the displeasure of my older brothers).

Now, Angela? . . . Angela was a slut and everybody knew it. She was only thirteen like us, but I was pretty damn sure she was already sleeping around. There was a rumor that she had an STD, but I was too afraid to ask.

Her blouse was buttoned a few buttons too low and her skirt barely came to her mid-thigh. Her dark eyes were caked with eyeliner and mascara and her lips were a cherry red. Golly, I swear every time Tim Shepard caught a glimpse of her outside of their home he had a heart attack. She typically dressed down around him so he wouldn't flip a switch. Curly Shepard was probably too dumb to notice.

"Are ya gonna apologize, Curtis?" she said, only half-teasing. I scoffed in her face and kept walking down the pavement along with Kiki.

"In your dreams, Shepard."

"There's a huge party at Buck's later," Angel said conversationally, picking up her pace to match our quick stride. "To celebrate that school's out. You two better be coming."

Kiki looked at me pleadingly. She didn't want to outright say that not only was she forbidden to go but she didn't _want_ to go. I denied Angel's request for the both of us. "Naw, Angel, that wouldn't be such a hot idea. Dally and Two-Bit are practically always there and they'd kill us if they saw us there, then bring my body back to Darry, where he'd kill me all over again."

"Graphic," Kiki commented and I elbowed her hard in the ribcage. I just saved her ass!

"And wouldn't Tim blow a gasket if he saw you there?" I asked Angel tentatively. Her brothers were a touchy subject.

"Tim don't give a shit about me," she spat.

"That ain't true," I argued. It wasn't. Any outsider could see that while he wasn't too great at showing affection, he would do anything for his little siblings. "He loves ya, Angel. You know that, right?"

She didn't respond and I knew then to drop it. Her expression was clouded over in thought until she finally came to the conclusion, "Well, I'm goin' to the party. Hope I see the two of you there." With that, she turned the corner and left, going off to who knows where.

"We ain't going, right?" Kiki said nervously. I was about to say "no" until I thought it over a minute.

"I dunno, Kiki, it might be kinda fun." I shrugged my shoulders apathetically. "We don't got any other plans."

"Darry would skin ya!" she cried and I was inclined to agree. "And Two-Bit told me in no uncertain terms that I ain't allowed at those kinds of parties or anywhere near Buck's place."

"Two-Bit's a damn hypocrite," I muttered under my breath as we approached my shabby old house. "Probably an alcoholic, too."

"Don't talk about my brother like that," she snapped and I knew I offended her. She skirted past me and opened up the perpetually unlocked door of my house, walking in without even holding the door open for me.

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled, kicking it open to find that she was already splayed across my couch. We were the only ones home so I concluded Two-Bit and the others stopped off at the DX. "C'mon, Kiki, the party might be fun."

She looked at me with something almost to the liking of concern. "Echo, you've been real different ever since your parents died. You used to be all sweet and polite but now you're all sassy and rebellious and-"

"Yeah, yeah," I cut her off angrily. "I get it. Darry's been regurgitating that for months. I just want to have some fun, that's all. It ain't too easy when you got three overbearing brothers constantly getting on you for shit. Well, not so much Soda and Pony but Darry's the biggest mother hen I've ever seen."

"He's just trying to do a good job," Kiki said softly and I chose to remain silent. I knew Darry was trying his best, but she didn't have to act like she knew him better than me.

It was decided. I wanted desperately to go to this party so I flashed her my best puppy-dog eyes and poked out my bottom lip. " _Please_ , Kiki? This party's gonna be great and you know it."

Kiki tried to keep her expression impassive but she was failing dismally. Kiki always broke with my puppy-dog eyes and judging by her face, they weren't letting me down today.

With a long sigh and an eyeroll, Kiki reluctantly nodded. "But we can't get caught and you can't drink or leave me."

I gave her a humongous hug from behind the couch and squealed, "It'll be a hit! But . . . you can't wear that."

She shimmied out of my hug, looking offended. "And what's wrong with my outfit?" It was too school-girl.

All I did was laugh in her face and saunter over to my room to pick something out for her. Most of my outfits didn't really fit Kiki's style but they looked good on her and they fit surprisingly well, considering she was a few inches taller.

She joined me in my room and sat on the edge of my bed, still looking rather pissed off. I took out the dress I thought would work and presented it to her. "How about this?"

"Hell no, I ain't a slut," she groaned and tumbled back to splay across my bed.

The dress was white with red polka dots and came down to the mid-thigh. It was a gift from Angela, as a lot of my "nice" clothes were. She was a lot bustier than me and whenever she outgrew something, she'd give it to me. I didn't like the charity, but I liked the clothes.

"Come on, with a leather jacket and a pair of boots you'd be a babe!" I laughed at how appalled she looked. Although it was sometimes hard having a friend who's the exact opposite of you, it also came with its fun.

"Echo, you know that isn't my goal right?" she remarked, sitting up and and taking it from me like it was burning hot and singing her fingers. She smoothed out the fabric with a visible grimace.

"Hell, it's the best you're going to get so suck it up." I was such a great friend.

"I feared that. I will wear it, but know I'm not happy about it." She was starting to realize who I was now, how I dressed, wasn't just a quick faze. Like I said before, I was real different before my parents died.

After hearing the gate rattle open and male voices from outside, I shoved the dress back in my closet and walked to the living room to meet my brothers and the gang, trying my best to look perfectly guiltless.

"Hi!" I sang, hoisting myself up onto the back of the couch. Kiki joined me and I could almost hear the gears shifting in her head. Man, she was a thinker. She was probably trying to find some way to get out of the party but I wouldn't let her.

"Hi there, Echo," Soda greeted, friendly as ever. "Hi, Kiki." Steve gave me a stiff nod that I didn't even bother to acknowledge. Ponyboy waved at Kiki and I but didn't say anything. Johnny, unsurprisingly, was equally silent though he smiled shyly.

Two-Bit was already in our fridge pulling out an ice-cold beer before I could even blink. Kiki admonished mildly, "It's three in the afternoon, Two-Bit." He shrugged off her rebuke and grinned.

"Speaking of you, Two-Bit," I said casually. "You forgot to pick us up from school."

Sodapop shot him a scolding look. "C'mon, man, you got one job."

Two-Bit had the decency to look at least half-heartedly ashamed before plopping down next to his kid sister, throwing an arm around her. "Damn, I knew I forgot something. Sorry 'bout that." He grabbed the remote, not bothering to care if we accepted his apology or not, and clicked on the TV. "Mickey's on!"

Soda darted into the kitchen and came out with a pepsi for Pony, Kiki, Johnny, and I. He sat down next to me and Steve sat on the ground by his feet, pulling out a deck of playing cards. Ponyboy accepted the drink then skirted around us to disappear into his room with Johnny to draw or write or read or whatever the heck he did in there. I sometimes wondered what conversations he could possibly have with Johnny, considering the two of them hardly ever talked.

"Soda?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder and trying to act as innocent as reasonably possible.

"What do ya want this time?" he asked, laughing his charming laugh I loved so much. It was so damn infectious. He could cure somebody from the plague with that laugh.

I smiled my brightest grin and shifted my head to prop my chin on his shoulder. "Well, ya see, I have this friend and she's havin' a sleepover tonight and Kiki and I want to go but I know that Darry ain't gonna let me."

"You don't know Darry won't let you until ya ask," Soda said logically, playfully nudging me with his elbow. "Who's the friend anyhow?"

"Angela Shepard," Kiki blurted out and I tried to kick her in the shins but I missed and nailed Two-Bit. He winced then kicked me back.

"Yeah, Darry ain't gonna let you go," Steve piped in and I kicked him next. He turned around to glare at me but I glowered back until he huffed and turned away again. "Hey, what can I say? Darry ain't gonna want his little sister hangin' around a slut like that." Kiki's forehead creased in a deep frown.

"Nobody asked you, and don't call my friend a slut or I will plant my shoe up your-"

"Okay, guys, that's enough," Soda interjected. He knew I didn't like Steve all that much, he hated Pony and I, but I put up with him for Soda. Well, I put up with him but I wasn't too nice about it.

I childishly stuck my tongue out at Steve before fully relenting. Deciding to relax, I just lay down on Soda's knee and rested for a little while. He rubbed circles into my back and I drifted off to the sounds of Mickey and the guys' loud, yet comfortingly loud voices.

 **A few hours later. . . .**

My eyes peeled open as my bed lowered and creaked- somebody was sitting near me. Looks like Soda had carried me into my room and lay me on my bed. That was nice of him, but it didn't surprise me. Soda was always doing nice things like that. Now Darry was shaking me awake with his rough hands.

When he realized I was finally awake he smiled tiredly at me. "How was your last day of school? How were the exams? I've made you study all week, it better had paid off."

In response, I pulled the covers over my head and rolled over. I knew he would make me get up but I was gonna try to bug him.

"Echo, get up, I ain't talking to a blanket." His voice changed from friendly to grumpy rather fast, like usual. Deciding not to push my luck with him today, I sat up and rested my back on the wall behind me.

"The exams were fine, but the math and science were especially easy. I'm glad school's done," I said whole-heartedly. Unlike Pony, I hadn't skipped a grade. He was good at everything school-related, I was just good at math and science. I wasn't good enough at the other subjects to be bumped up a grade, but I was in an advanced math program.

Kiki was pretty damn smart and studious, and was given the chance to skip a grade, but she was a bit socially awkward so she loyally stayed with me. I was real happy about that.

"Thought you'd be, and good about the exams. You hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

"Go set the table, Two-Bit and Kiki and all the rest of those freeloaders are staying for dinner," he ordered, getting up and slapping me once on the knee.

"Why can't Pony do it?" I groaned and he sent me a 'Don't mess with me right now' look so I caved.

"All right, all right, I'll do it." He turned to leave once more and I said before he could, "Hey, Dar?"

"Yeah?" He didn't turn around to look at me.

"Can I have a sleepover tonight?"

He glanced over at me, impassive. "With who?"

"Kiki and . . . Angela Shepard."

"No," he said immediately and it was clearly final.

"C'mon, Darry-"

"I said no. I don't want you hangin' around the likes of her." With that, he left the room and I scowled at his retreating form.

After setting the table, I told Kiki my plan (she was currently sifting through my closet) and then picked up the phone to call Angel, all the guys lounging around in the living room. Dally showed up a few minutes ago 'cause he just couldn't stay away.

Tim answered on the fifth ring. "What?" He never had the decency to say "hello."

"Hi, Tim, this is Echo Curtis. Can I talk to Angel, please?" I said in my most polite tone.

I heard him bellow, "Angel, get your ass down here! Tiny Curtis is on the phone for you!" and then noisy footsteps before her softer voice replaced his gruff one. _Tiny_? I thought, annoyed. _Rude._

"Hello?" She sounded like she was chewing something, maybe gum.

"Angel, it's Echo. I can't go to the sleepover tonight." I was saying this for Darry's benefit, who was within earshot.

 _Crack_. She _was_ chewing gum: definitely bubblegum. "The hell you going on about?" Realization seemed to dawn on her. "Your brothers are in the room, aren't they?"

"Yeah." I snuck a glance at them; they weren't paying careful attention.

"So this is a ruse? _Smart_ little Curtis. You comin' to the party or what? It starts at eight."

I worked to keep the enthusiasm out of my voice. "Yup."

"I knew you'd come around! Kiki better be coming, if she ain't then haul her ass over there. See you there."

"Bye, Angel." I hung up then fazed into the second part of my plan. "Hey, Dar?" His head snapped up from his newspaper and he looked at me with his undivided attention.

"Yeah?"

"Since I can't go to Angel's, can I go to Kiki's for a sleepover?" I clasped my hands together in a beg.

He thought it over a moment then relented, "Sure, since school's over and if Two-Bit's mom thinks it's fine."

Two-Bit hollered over from his poker game (I was fairly sure he was cheating), "'Course she'll be fine with it! My ma loves her. As long as somethin's got to do with Kiki, she'll love it." There was some truth to that.

I turned to Kiki who had just entered the room, hiding my face from the rest of the group, and winked at her. I knew at this point she was inwardly groaning but I didn't care, I got to go to the party.

After a satisfactory dinner of pasta Soda whipped up (a miracle he didn't pour food-coloring all over it) I was in my room packing an overnight bag. Well, at least that's what Darry thought I was doing, but I was _actually_ picking out my outfit for the party.

"How's this?" I asked a thoroughly bored Kiki. It was a dress that flared out at the skirt and came to about my mid-thigh. It was a lush dark blue with a stylish belt that wrapped around my slender waist. Since Angel was bustier than me, the shoulder sleeves fell to my mid-arms, but overall, it fit nicely.

"I like it," she monotoned and I sighed, reaching into my tiny closet to pick out a pair of Angel's old shoes and stuff them into my overnight bag- yes, I actually _was_ going to bring that to Kiki's house . . . before I completely disobeyed Darry and met up with Angela at a party at Buck Merril's. If Darry found out then I would not be alive tomorrow, but I was one to live in the moment.

I should have thought this one through.


	2. Don't Look Back

**A/N: Hi! This chapter introduces our third main character of this story, Kristina Winston. By the way, just so you know, this takes place in June 1966, because the Outsiders novel took place in early fall, 1965. We tweaked something a little, though. Johnny is now about Pony's age, fifteen (Pony will be fifteen soon in this story). This will influence the plot, so it's not for nothing. Sorry about that. If it bothers you, then this may not be the story for you. Well, anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Warning: This chapter contains some profanity (it's an argument) and references to substance abuse (but it is condemned).**

 **P.S. Thanks for the reads, and a special thanks to BlackWiltedRose for being our first reviewer, and to Pony'sgirlfriend for being our second! We really appreciate all of you! :)**

 **Chapter 2: Don't Look Back**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

"Kid, where the hell are you going?" my momma growled from my doorway as she puffed smoke rings into my room. After all this, she was _smoking_.

"I'll figure it out," I snapped back, shoving the last of my things into my duffel bag. "Why the hell do you care?"

"I just got outta the hospital, why are you so _mean_ to me?" she cried out but I just scoffed under my breath. Her perception on reality was so damn skewed.

"You've lost touch with reality," I spat and she countered,

"You're outta your goddamn mind." With one last long drag, she threw the cigarette down on the ground and stomped on it, leaving a tiny scorch mark on the crusty old carpet.

Tuning out her screams of indignation, I decided to do one last thing before I left. I slipped into the bathroom and clicked the lock shut- it was a miracle the thing still worked and searched the cabinets for her drugs. She knew what I was doing, and began pounding on the door with all her might as I flushed it all down the toilet.

I exited the bathroom with a smirk on my face and she grabbed me by the front of my leather jacket, slamming me up against the wall. As her hands circled tightly around my throat, the smug smile melted off my face and I shoved her off me furiously.

"How _dare_ you?" she shrieked, spittin' mad. I stormed on past her and continued down the tiny little hallway. "That was _my_ property! You have no right-"

"Shut the hell up!" I shouted at her, every ounce of patience slipping away. Not like I had much to begin with.

"You can't talk to me like that!" she cried pathetically and I lost it.

"You don't get it! Christ, you probably don't even _remember_! I came home from goddamn school last week, and what do I find? You, splayed out on the ground with puke all over the place. YOU OVERDOSED AGAIN! I thought you were _dead_! You weren't fucking _breathing_! I had to restart your heart! You're so damn lucky I stole a car and drove you to the hospital 'cause you forgot to pay the phone bills again, because if I hadn't you'd probably be stone-cold dead."

Her cloudy brown eyes shadowed over in sadness and regret, but it was all shallow. It would go away for her when she shot up again, but not for me. And I was done. I was fucking _done_. "Baby, you _know_ that rehab thing ain't workin' for me-"

I could have spit in her eye right then. "You didn't even last a week, Momma. You promised to stop usin' for the thousandth time. You were going to do it for _me_. And I was stupid enough to believe you- again. But then you found another boy toy who liked to shoot up too and that just went all out the window, didn't it?" When she didn't respond, I said more harshly, " _Didn't it_?!"

"I'll quit, baby, I will-"

Against my will, moisture began to build up in my eyes and I had to blink it away. "I wanna believe ya. You know I do. But I've heard that song and dance so many damn times that I just can't."

She dove forward to capture my wrist in a vice grip but I ripped it away like her hand was burning hot. "Don't leave now, Krissy. C'mon, I'll get better."

Great, now the tears were falling. Just fan-fucking-tastic. "Momma, just last week you overdosed and I walk in today with you as high as a kite. You ain't gettin' better, and I ain't gonna stick around to see you crash and burn over and over again. After Dally left and Dad went to jail, I've had a front row seat to that and I'm done, Momma. I'm sick of tired of getting my hopes up when I know you ain't _ever_ gonna stop using."

She had nothing else to say because there wasn't any rebuttal to that. Opening up the door, I looked over my shoulder and said through my tears, "I can't do this no more. Goodbye, Momma." I grabbed my guitar case near the door and my duffel bag and I was gone.

See, now I had a problem. I was wandering through the streets of a rough part of Brooklyn, homeless. Yeah, some of my fellow gang members would probably take me in, but I was a lone wolf and they knew it.

So, I was on my lonesome and for whatever reason, I found myself walking to the train station. An idea was floating around in my head like a fly that wouldn't leave me alone that maybe I could take the next train to Tulsa. I didn't really know what I'd find there. Yeah, I was aware that my brother ran off there a few years back, but I wasn't sure what to expect. The Dally that left was angry and bitter enough, sure, but I knew full well he was on a downward spiral.

Maybe I'd go to Tulsa and maybe I'd even find him, but I didn't know if I would recognize him. He got arrested for the first time at ten years old, and he ran away from home about a year later. Who knew what he'd be like now?

My feet were working without any direction from my head as I moved to the ticket station. I didn't have time to be unsure about my decision because I was already saying to the ticket man, "One ticket to Tulsa."


	3. A Fistful of Shots

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's the third chapter of this story, in Kristina's perspective. This is around the same time Echo and Kiki have decided to come to the party, the last chapter took place several hours to a day earlier while Kris was still in New York. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Warning:** **Now, this chapter involves underage drinking and just so you all know, we do not condone that in anyway. These characters are making poor choices but it also benefits our plot. Also, it contains some more profanity than usual but only because the two characters this chapter is mostly about are drunk (Kristina and Two-Bit).**

 **P.S. Thanks so much for the reads and reviews! You all mean so much to us! :)**

 **P.P.S. This chapter title is a reference to the movie "A Fistful of Dollars," in case you haven't already figured that out XD.**

 **Chapter 3: A Fistful of Shots**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

Tulsa. It wasn't really what I expected. From up north, I expected everyone from the South to have pickup trucks and cowboy hats and flannel shirts. But no, they were just like any old regular person I was used to. Well, their accents were annoying, but it was bearable.

The city environment was nowhere near like New York, but it was a city nonetheless. I was currently in a not so great part of the city and I was utterly lost. A few hoods tried to scare me a little but I gave them my best 'Fuck off, I'm a Winston' glare and they left me alone.

Nightfall was quickly rushing in like a black blanket. This didn't seem like too hot of a place to stay out at night so I wanted to find a place to stay and fast. A trashy-looking greaser girl was walking past and I called over to her. She looked annoyed that I stopped her but she moseyed it on over to me all the same.

She was surprisingly good-looking. She had jet-black hair, styled and curled, dark eyes and lots of makeup. Her dress revealed to me more than I wanted to see. "I'm new here, and I was wonderin' if there's any place that rents out rooms or somethin'."

She thought it over a minute. "I'm headin' to a party right now at a place called Buck's. He rents out rooms I think. You can come with, if ya want."

"Yeah, I will, thanks." I shifted the strap of my duffel bag to my other shoulder and switched my guitar case to my other hand.

"You a musician or somethin'?" She didn't seem to care too much, but the silence was awkward.

"Yeah, somethin' like that." We continued down the street and a house with booming music came into view. There was a small barn nearby with horses, and a stadium.

"So, uh, what's your name?" she asked.

"Kristina." I carefully left out the "Winston" in case anyone knew him around here. "You?"

"Angela Shepard." _Shepard, Shepard, sounds familiar_ , I thought. _Shepard gang . . ._? _Tim Shepard's sister_?

"You Tim Shepard's sister?"

She immediately went on the defensive. "Yeah, gotta problem with that?"

"No." Conversation ceased between us as she led me to the door. She left me to meet some people and I had to go find Buck on my own.

Asking around, I finally stumbled upon someone that did fit the southern stereotypes. He smelled like horse and alcohol. "You got any rooms here I could stay in?" I yelled over the music.

He appraised me carefully. "You're awful young, ain't ya? How old are ya, kid?"

"Just turned thirteen," I informed him. "I might be young, but I need a place to stay, man."

He didn't look incredibly happy about it, but he jerked his thumb over to the staircase and told me, "There's a free room upstairs. Stay there. We'll talk rent after the party."

"Thanks, man." I hurried upstairs and found the only empty room, kicking the door closed behind me. The party downstairs actually looked kind of fun, so I decided to dress up for it. Just because I wore jeans and converse and a leather jacket every single goddamn day of my life didn't mean I didn't own a skirt.

Around fifteen minutes later, I was ready. I had on three-inch heels, a black leather mini-skirt (yeah, I _really_ liked leather) and a light blue blouse that slightly exposed my midriff. My sharp green eyes were surrounded with obvious black mascara and eyeliner, which was a shock compared to my pale complexion and light hair. I even managed to untangle my mess of bouncy curls and undo my ponytail so my hair tumbled to my waist.

My goal was to get wasted. I didn't want to think about my momma right now, even though she was persistently rushing to the forefront of my thoughts. It hurt to think about her and I wanted to drink that hurt away.

As I walked down the stairs, I felt many greaser boy eyes on me. It might have been my hair, it was a pale and vivid enough blonde (almost white) to catch somebody's eye, like a flash of metal or light. But instead of averting their gazes, they stayed glued on me.

My first destination was the bar. I really, really hoped they didn't give a crap about carding anybody because I was thirteen and I looked it. Tapping my fingers impatiently against the counter, I jumped as a plastic cup was plopped down in front of me.

"You lookin' to drink somethin', sweetheart? Well, _I_ can help there," a boy behind me simpered into my ear. I glanced over my shoulder to get a better look at him and liked what I saw. He was tall, real tall, maybe around six feet. He had rust-colored hair and sideburns and a goofy yet flirtatious grin. But he was too old for me. "My name's Keith but everyone calls me Two-Bit. Your lovely blonde hair caught my eye across the room and I just had, _had_ to say hello. So, why hello there."

I turned around to completely face him and his rich gray eyes widened with surprise, then a little fear. "Oh, oh jeez. Shit, I didn't know you were that young. Shit, man, I'll be right on my way-"

"Wait!" I interrupted before he could leave, grabbing him by the wrist. "Don't worry about nothin'. I don't give a shit, I just need a drink right now. You didn't spike this, did ya? What's in it?"

He visibly relaxed, now realizing I wasn't going to call the police or nothing. He _did_ cut all the flirting, though. Made sense, he was probably around nineteen. "Just beer, why, little girly?"

"Got anything stronger?" I raised my eyebrows challengingly and he eyed me doubtfully.

"Kid, ain't you a little young to be-"

"Cut the crap, all right?" I pointed my index finger right into his face. "I had the worst fuckin' week and I need to get smashed. Will ya get me something? Since you can't flirt no more, we can be drinking buddies."

He shrugged then smiled real wide at me. "Well alrighty then. Follow the leader, now." I slipped off my barstool and tailed him through the crowd where he led me to a different, though still busy room. "They have some shots in 'ere."

"Damn straight." I hurried over to the table and asked for a couple shots of vodka. They didn't even blink an eye; they must have been used to serving younger customers. I grabbed two of the glasses and handed one to him. "Bottoms up."

He smiled wolfishly and downed it, whooping loudly after he swallowed it. I grinned and gulped down my shot; it was a real kick.

"Another?" I asked him and he nodded excitedly. Damn, he was like a little puppy dog. He reached over and poured us some whiskey shots, pushing one over to me.

"One, two, two and a half, _three_ ," he said and we drank them together. He clapped his hands together enthusiastically and slapped me on the back. "Damn, you can hold them drinks. What's ya name, anyway, kid?

"Kristina." I left out the "Winston" like before. "Call me Kris."

He giggled in a boyish way, ruffling up my hair. I took a swing at him and he dodged my fist, surprisingly swift. "Well, my new little buddy Kris, would ya like some more?"

I laughed then cried happily, "Aw, hell yeah!" The drinks were beginning to buzz up my system and the awful week I had was fading away with the alcohol.

We did wait a little before the third shot (he knew the process of drinking like the back of his hand) so we danced a little out in the main room- platonically, of course.

I was _not_ expecting to have this much fun. In the next few hours, we each had about five more shots (I wasn't entirely sure, we lost count) and were rip-roaring _drunk_ , just like I had hoped for. Two-Bit was a hilarious drunk and we were becoming fast friends. I was quite a funny drunk myself; goofy, foolish, playful, and all-around cheery.

We were giggling like mad against the pool tables; people kept shooting us odd looks but we were too wasted to care. "Whatcha lookin' at, little boy?" I called over to a greaser boy with a pool stick in his hand. "I might be drunk as all hell but I could whoop your ass at pool with both hands behind my back!"

It was actually probably true, but Two-Bit and I still roared with laughter. The boy didn't accept my challenge but I had already forgotten about it ten seconds later.

"Maybe I should get us a couple beers," I suggested, slurring my words until they were nearly unreasonable, "to wash down the shots!"

Two-Bit was caught in another snickering fit but managed to shout, "God almighty, Miss Kris, you're a right genius! Go on, speak your words o' wisdom!"

We were laughing so hard that we had to lean against each other to stay upright. A new song came on, some Elvis song I was too wasted to recognize, but I knew I loved it. "C'mon, Two-Bit," I yelled over the music. "Dance with me, boy!"

He led me over to the dance floor and we did dance- _sort of_. It was more like jumping around like absolute maniacs and making sure the other didn't topple over (especially with my heels), but it was a hell of a lot of fun.

"Hey, little girly," he guffawed once the song was over. "Where them beers you promised?!"

"Glory, hold your horses, Two-Shit!" I replied good-naturedly. "Two beers comin' up, my goodly new friend!"

"Well, hurry it on up, then! I ain't gettin' any younger!"

"You sure as hell ain't, ya old fart!" I stumbled over to the bar, tripping over my feet and only catching myself with the counter. "Whoa," I said loudly, stroking the surface of it. "When did _this_ get here?"

The young man behind the bar, maybe in his late teens, early twenties, stared at me dubiously. "Little lady, I don't think you should be drinking anymore."

I stammered out a protest, "But it's for my friend, too! Where is he?" I scanned the crowd. "Hey, Two-Shit, get your lazy ass over here!" He bumbled his way on over and threw an arm around my shoulders so he wouldn't fall over.

"What's the problem, Your Highness?" he chuckled.

I pointed at Two-Bit wildly even though he was right next to me. "See, my buddy over here needs some beer and _pronto_! If he don't get his beer, then why, he'll die of old age!"

We broke into yet _another_ bout of giggling and clutched onto each other for dear life. The bartender just rolled his eyes at us and let us be, after saying with disappointment, "She's just a kid, Mathews." Well, at least I knew his last name now.

"I don't think we're gettin' any beers, Two-Shit," I informed him with a feigned somberness. He shrugged it off.

"Well, to hell with it all, then!" he chirped, leading me back into the crowd. We leaned against each other and swayed to the music.

Something occurred to me through my drunken haze. "Hey, do ya know a Dallas Winston? He's blond, mean, looks like a fuckin' elf or some shit like that?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I know that bastard! Like 'im to death. What'd he do to ya? Knock ya up?"

 _Ewww, that's nasty_ , I thought with a grimace. "No but I got a fuckin' bone to pick with 'im."

"Who doesn't? He's Dally goddamn Winston!" He looked around the room, straining his neck over the crowd. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure he's here somewhere. Saw him come in a couple minutes ago. I could go find him if you wanta kick his ass or somethin'."

The blood drained from my face and the room suddenly iced over about thirty degrees. "He's _here_?"

He eyed me weirdly. "S'what I said. Want me to go find 'im?"

My heart rate rose a few notches. "I-I um . . . no, man. Let's just dance."

Chubby Checker's "The Twist" came spitting out of the radio and my mood skyrocketed as Two-Bit and I attempted to dance "The Twist" without falling over.

As he twisted around, he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes fell upon two greaser boys looming over two small greaser girls with varying shades of red hair. He must have known them because he bellowed across the room, "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"


	4. Busted

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 **Chapter 4: Busted**

 **Kiki's Perspective**

Dammit, this wasn't _fair_. I didn't want to go to the party and Echo wasn't being a real good friend by making me go. I shivered as another cool blast of wind gusted against us as we walked down the sidewalk to Buck's place.

We had just finished dropping Echo's things off my place- unbeknownst to Darry, my ma just left for her second job so she wasn't there to supervise us. Darry had dropped us off and we changed there before leaving to go to the party.

"C'mon, Kiki," Echo bombarded me out of my thoughts, "it'll be fun."

I just kept my scowl safely in place and ignored her. I was going to the damn party, I didn't have to like it.

My dress was too short and Echo decided it looked better without the jacket and the dress was sleeveless, so I was freezing. I was wobbling, rather unbalanced, because I was wearing a pair of Echo's (Angel's old ones) boots with three inch heels. I was already around five-foot-five, and this just made me feel extra tall. Echo refused to let me wear my usual braid, so my rust-colored waves of hair were down and loose. She even put makeup on me, too much for my liking.

I heard the party before I even saw Buck's house. The music was blaring, and the whoops and shouts echoed down the street. "I don't know about this," I said fearfully, wrapping my arms around myself in a futile attempt to keep warm.

"Live a little, Kiki!" Echo looked real pretty tonight. She was wearing a pair of Angel's old high heels, and a rather short dark blue dress. Her long red hair was up in a bun with hair carefully framing her attractive face. Her eyes were prettied up with loads of mascara and eyeliner and her lips were a vibrant red. If Darry saw her he'd have a heart attack then come back from the dead to strangle her.

Far too soon, we were standing at the door. My breathing was rapid and uneven and my heart beat about a mile a minute. Even Echo looked a little nervous, but she still kicked open the door and walked in, grabbing my wrist to yank me after her.

Wow. Just . . . wow. People were dancing (not very modestly, I might add), playing pool, poker, drinking, smoking. . . . This was Two-Bit's paradise.

Ah, Two-Bit. On the surface, he was a fairly laid-back, carefree person and brother but he was more protective of me than people gave him credit for. Overprotective, even. And he told me that he better not _ever_ see me here, or he'd give me hell.

"Hey, y'all!" I snapped my head around to see Angel Shepard waving us over excitedly. I picked my way through the grinding bodies over to her. "You came!"

"Against my free will," I grumped.

"Oh, please, you _agreed_ , didn't ya?" Echo pointed out. I glowered at her.

"Well I'm glad you came. Does Darry know you're here?" she asked slurring many of her words. I noticed she had a beer in one hand and was wearing even less clothing than Echo.

"Hell no, he'd probably marry Elvis before he be lettin' me come to a party like this. By the way, is Dally or Two-Bit around? The last thing I need is 'em seein' me and blabbing to Darry about it," Echo replied, grinning away. I noticed her speech became less formal when around Angela and people alike. She was really a smart girl but she tended to dumb it down around most greasers.

"Mathews is here, but he's drunk-dancing with some blonde bimbo. Dally ain't here, but he usually comes in later 'cause that's the way he rolls. Speaking of wasted, let's get you little ladies somethin' to drink," Angela announced, grabbing Echo's wrist, knowing I would follow.

"You better be talking about a soda, Angela, because you know I don't drink. That stuff is nasty, I have seen what it does to Two-Bit and I don't want any business with it." Two Bit was always incapacitated in one way or another and I was watching his life get destroyed because of it. My mama expected me to go to college and be the first person to do something in their lives in our family and I wasn't about to let Echo and her rebellious streak to ruin it.

"It'll loosen ya up a little!" she coaxed, disappearing for a moment then reappearing with two beer cups in her hand. "C'mon, Kiki, lighten up."

I didn't want to, I really didn't, but I snatched the cup from her hand and downed it in three gulps. It nearly came up again; that stuff was rancid, but part of me wanted to prove that I was just as tough as any regular greaser. "I'll have another."

 **Echo's Perspective**

The party was _fun_. After I loosened up with the help of a couple shots from Angela and some other drinks that I didn't know the name of, we got to dancin' and currently some cute teenage guys were hitting on Kiki and I. Angela had left us a little while ago to go do her thing in a back room with some random boy, but we didn't mind, we knew what she was doing

Kiki was hilarious, after she finished her beer and then one or two after, the alcohol hit her _hard_. She was dancing like a madwoman and had no care for anyone or anything in the room. She ended up knocking over a lamp and a few bottles resting on low tables. When she asked for more beer, we gave her water but she was too far gone to notice. She was the biggest lightweight I had ever seen.

To be honest, I felt great myself; I didn't have to think about anything but what was happening right now and it was tuff. I would have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, but fuck it.

"I haven't seen you little ladies around here before," the boy with the slick black hair said.

"Well, we were walking by and this place seem like a good time. . . . So, here we are." My words were slurred and I could barely stand up straight in these heels, but I kept upright.

"How about you two cuties?" Kiki grinned without an ounce of shyness and I let out a low whistle; alcohol really could be liquid confidence for some.

The other boy, the one with shaggy, tuff blond hair stuck out his hand and rested the palm of it against Kiki's cheek. "Well, we were here to party, but now I got other ideas."

The black-haired boy wrapped his arm around my waist and I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable at our closeness but I kept my mouth shut; I didn't want to look like an idiot or anything.

The blond boy drew in closer and closer to Kiki and even she was looking a little awkward. "Um, maybe we shouldn't." She attempted to gently push him away as to not hurt his feelings but he only grabbed her tightly by the upper arms. "Get off me!"

The brunette crooned in my ear, "Come on, baby, you know what those clothes are tellin' me?" He pulled me against him, separating all space between us, and gave me a rough kiss on the neck just as the blond was pulling Kiki in . . .

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" an all too familiar voice yelled. I was terrified and grateful at the same time for him discovering us.

Two-Bit Mathews came charging like an angry bull seeing red and, though clearly drunk, pushed the guys away from both of us. He threw a sloppy yet unexpectedly accurate punch right into the blond boy's nose. It drew a waterfall of blood.

The blonde "bimbo" I had seen dancing crazily with Two-Bit earlier came rushing over, her bright green eyes swirling with alcohol. "What the hell's going on?!"

While Two-Bit was certainly courageous for standing up for us, he was still absolutely hammered and was easily punched in the gut by the black-haired boy then pushed to the ground. "Two-Bit!" Kiki cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, that's my fucking friend!" the blonde said angrily, and she, much to my shock, punched the black-haired boy twice in the eye, sending him stumbling backwards. He slapped her brutally across the face, whipping her head back, but she remained undaunted and jumped in to attack him once more, stomping him in the foot then kicking him sharply in the shin with the thin high heel of her shoe. He yelped in pain.

People moved away and were watching the fight go down, cheering. Soon, two other guys joined to fight against us and it went downhill from there. I was holding back Kiki, both of us in a rather panicked state as we watched the group duke it out.

One of the guys was repeatedly kicking Two-bit in the ribs so he couldn't get up and recover, so in a bout of bravery or more likely, alcohol, I ran at him and ended up causing him to trip but me to go flying into a wall. I slammed my head hard into the plaster and everything around me began to spin.

In my daze I heard another familiar voice through the cheers, and _lucky me_ , my brother Sodapop decided to join in the fun. Apparently he and his asshole friend, Steve, decided to choose that moment to enter the party. "Get away from my baby sister, you son of a bitch!"

 _Baby sister_? I thought, peeved. _Greeeeaaat. That just ruined my rep._ I felt someone come to my side and sure enough it was my forever loyal friend Kiki. A wave of guilt washed over me. If I hadn't made her come we wouldn't be in this mess.

"Echo? Echo, are you _okay_?" She was snapping her fingers in my face and holding me up.

"I'm fine." I really wasn't fine.

"You're bleeding." Her voice was full of worry. Over her shoulder, I could see the fight continuing to get out of hand, when yet another person I knew oh so well, decided the fight looked like a right fun time.

"I'm comin' in!" came the furious shout from the infamous Dallas Winston. He had been upstairs doing God knows what with his on-and-off girlfriend, Sylvia, and presumably heard the commotion. Dally couldn't stay away from a fight to save his damn life.

So, now, Dally, the blonde girl, Two-Bit, Sodapop, and even Steve were all in the thick of the brawl. _Darry is so gonna kill me._

After a few more minutes of the nonstop violence a loud gunshot rang throughout the house and everyone stopped dead. Buck Merril, in all his drunken glory, stood on the bar counter with a revolver in one hand, a beer in the other, and roared, " _Take the fucking fight outside_!"

By then, the addition of Dally had scared off the handsy greaser boys but we all paraded outside anyhow, Kiki propping me up as my head pounded and the ground shifted beneath me.

After less than a second of walking, my feet gave out and I fell to the dirty concrete. Soda leaped to my side, cradling my torso against his chest. I could almost feel the anger radiating off him but he was too focused on my well-being to let me have it. That was where he differed from Darry; Darry would have been stuck between asking whether I was okay and shouting at me for being an idiot.

"Greaser girl down, greaser girl down," Two-Bit called, his eyelid rapidly reddening and darkening. Blood dripped from his nostrils and he rubbed at his well-abused side. I felt so horribly guilty. This was because of _me_!

"Aw, shut up, Two-Shit!" the blond growled playfully over to him. She looked just about as drunk as Two-Bit, and made her way over to me, looking me straight in the eye. "You might have a concussion. I can't really tell, though." She was slurring more than I was! "You're just shit outta luck."

The blonde had a bruise forming on her cheekbone and a busted, cut lip, but she didn't even seem to notice. I also noticed how young she really was: twelve, _maybe_ thirteen.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Dally asked in his deep, rough voice. He wasn't horribly bad off compared to the others. Judging from what I saw in the fight, he would likely have a nice bruise on his ribs but nothing more than that. This fight must have felt so amateur for him.

Two-Bit spoke up again, nursing his bloody knuckles, "Shut it, Dal, she's just a kid."

"Fuck off, Mathews."

The blonde girl spun around to glare at Dally, but her expression shifted in a split second. She looked like she had just seen a _ghost_. Her lower jaw was to the ground and she stared at Dally like she knew him from somewhere, knew him _real_ well.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" he asked, giving her his classic angry scowl. His eyes then narrowed to slits as he really got a good look at her, his mouth dropped open and he just stared, absolutely dumbfounded.

Her moment of shock melted away and a profound smirk played at her lips. She walked toward him lithely, like a wildcat stalking her prey. "Well, hey there, Dally," she taunted, thoroughly enjoying this. "You didn't forget me, did ya? Don't tell me you forgot your kid sister."


	5. Long Time No See

**A/N: Hi y'all! Sorry, getting in the Outsiders southern feel there (we're from California). First off, thanks soooo much for the overwhelming feedback last chapter! Seriously, all of you are amazing! And also, thanks for the reads, favorites, and alerts! We appreciate them so much! Sorry about the cliffy at the end of the last chapter . . . sorta . . . well, it was a little mean but here's the next chapter! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 5: Long Time No See**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

"Well, hey there, Dally." The look of astonishment slapped across his face was highly amusing to me. "You didn't forget me, did ya? Don't tell me you forgot your kid sister."

There was a moment of pure, deadly silence as the air charged up with tension. Even tough ol' Dallas Winston was stunned beyond words. Hell, even _Two-Bit_ , who couldn't shut up even if he were being held at gunpoint, was quiet.

Everybody just stared at Dally, waiting in anticipation for his inevitable explosion. He had to search long and hard for his voice but he finally managed to croak out, "Krissy?"

My good mood shattered like a glass being dropped on a tiled floor, broken into a million pieces. "You lost the damn right to call me that."

Slightly taken back by what I said, he asked, "What the hell are you doing here?" I ground my teeth and searched through my mind for the best response.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yeah, I didn't find that perfect response, so I unwisely used this one.

He appraised me carefully then came to the conclusion, "You're fuckin' wasted, aren't you?"

"So glad that you noticed," I spat and his icy blue eyes flared up with ire.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, before we get into this let's head back to our place. Echo don't look all that great and I think these kids have had enough drama for one night," the gorgeous blond boy/Greek god said. He was holding the girl, presumably his sister, who hit her head earlier on the wall. Did I mention that he looked like a Greek god? 'Cause he did. And that was all I really noticed right then.

But then I thought, _Wait, Echo?! What the hell kinda name is that?!_

I was a little apprehensive and really didn't want to follow them but Two-Bit looked at me in his friendly way and smiled. "Kris, it's all right, these are all good people and I don't think you gonna be stayin' here tonight."

" _Kris_?!" Dally bellowed, and I jumped, startled. He turned to Two-Bit and there might as well been steam blowing from his pointy-ass ears. "When'd you start callin' her _that_?! How the fuck do you know my sister?"

He was right. I typically only let people call me by a nickname when I was real close to them- or, apparently, when I was drunk as hell. "Hey, you two stop! Please, guys! Before we go through any of this we are going to back to my place," the insanely pretty boy repeated.

"Fine, I'll go, but _only_ because Sexy Blond over there wants me to." I grinned wickedly, knowing it would rile up Dally. I was too hammered to remember that all my things were still in Buck's place.

The aforementioned pretty blond's cheeks flushed pink, but he looked a little pleased.

"You're damn impossible!" Dally yelled into the cold night air, running his hands through his white-blond hair, the same exact shade as mine. I sneered at him.

The taller of the redhead girls, the one who I assumed was Two-Bit's sister, timidly walked over to her brother. He had been completely and utterly ignoring her for the last few minutes. "Two-Bit, I-"

"Not now, Kiara." She flinched at the sound of her name, which confused me. Maybe she didn't go by it unless she was in trouble. "I don't even wanna talk to you right now." Tears filled up her eyes and my heart twinged in sympathy; he really was mad at her.

A different boy with dark hair of intricate curls, one who hadn't talked yet but had joined the fight, mumbled to the blond, "Wait until we get back to your place, we're gettin' a free show."

"Aw, not now, Steve!" the good-looking boy snapped. Without another word, he turned and threw open the door to his truck. He situated Echo into the passenger seat and moved to the driver's side. "Y'all get in the back, I'll drive slow."

The effect of the alcohol was rearing its ugly head so I draped my arm over Two-Bit to keep steady- and for the added bonus of irritating Dally. He could have been a gentleman and lifted me into the bed of the truck, but he was just as drunk as I was so I had to push him in first before he pulled me up.

Two-Bit's sister went over to the passenger side and joined the two in the front because he still wouldn't let her talk to him; every time she looked at him he frowned disapprovingly. That was quite bizarre to see him act like this; from what I had seen, he was the most carefree person I had ever met.

It was awkward in the bed of the truck. Two-Bit was all steamed up, the Steve boy was glaring at Kiara and the other girl in the front for reasons I didn't quite understand, maybe because they were sitting up with the pretty boy, and Dally's glower bore holes into the back of my skull.

By the time we pulled up to the rundown, shabby but likeable house that I figured was our destination, it was nearing midnight and we were all tired. I remembered what Steve had said and I had to assume our night was nowhere near ending, though. _Well_ , _damn it all_ , I thought.

The house was a broken down little place with a wire fence around the front yard. The lawn only had a few patches of greenish grass, the rest of it consisted of dead weeds. A single light was on inside and the screen door allowed you to see some of the living room.

We all piled out of the truck and Echo groaned as she was being lifted into her brother's arms. "Sodapop, for the sake of my health I truly don't think it is a good idea to make me go in there."

Aw, the cutie's name was Sodapop! Odd, but downright adorable.

Soda looked at her sympathetically and soothed, "I will try to keep him off your back tonight but in the morning you are fair game, understand?"

"Fine!" she said gratefully as we walked up the small set of stairs and opened the door. I was leaning on Two-Bit again but he was just as equally leaning on me.

We all shuffled into the small space when out came another very handsome man. _Man, Tulsa just has an abundance of them!_ This man was startlingly muscular and tall, even taller than Two-Bit. His black shirt outlined his well-defined muscles perfectly and he just overall looked tuff- and very, very _tough_. When he took in our ratty bunch, his brow creased into a frown and when his eyes fell upon Soda's sister he went _livid_.

He shouted, the vein in his neck popping out, "What the hell happened? Echo, what are you _wearing_? Why are you all hurt? Somebody tell me what the hell is going on!"

Well, he was downright pleasant. Two-Bit led me over to the couch where we collapsed but the man hardly noticed us. All of his attention was directed right at poor little Echo.

Two young teenage boys peaked out from the kitchen, one with reddish-brown hair and the other with black hair that flopped over his tan face with his long, greasy bangs. Both were cute, especially the redhead. The dark-haired one just looked all-around shy but the other was intently observing, quite obviously captivated by it all.

"Darry, hold your horses. She hit her head pretty hard and I need to clean it up. But she'll be okay, Dar, so don't worry about that," Sodapop said, trying to calm who I assumed was their older brother.

"Are you all right?" he asked Echo. I guess his concern outweighed his rage at the moment.

"I will be," she whispered. His gaze then hardened.

Darry growled in no uncertain terms to Echo, "Once you're all fixed up, there'll be _hell_ to pay. Pony, get the medical kit." I wondered where their parents could be then what Darry had just said registered.

 _Pony_? I thought incredulously. _Who named these people, the circus_? _Or am I just really, really drunk_?

The boy named Pony left the room without more than a nod and came back with a medical kit. They set Echo on the floor next to us and began to help her out. Sleep was weighing down my eyelids and I rested my head onto Two-Bit's shoulder, who in turn slumped against the back of the couch. Dally plopped down on the chair near the door. We had been having a bit of a drunken staredown for a little while now-oh yeah, I wasn't the only one who downed too many.

"Echo, are you okay?" Pony asked, while sitting down next to her. She nodded yes but judging by her facial expression she didn't look too hot. But then again she was drunk too, so I didn't really know. Soda gently began cleaning the back of her head with a moist wipe.

Kiara came to sit next to Pony and Steve was leaning against the back wall watching everything play out.

The man Darry took a second to take in everyone in our various states and when his eyes finally landed on me he recoiled in surprise. "I'm sorry, young lady, but who might _you_ be?" He didn't sound very sorry at all.

I was planning on being all nice and polite and shake the man's hand, but my legs were as good as jelly so I just sat there. "My name's Kristina . . . Kristina Winston."

His eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head. "You didn't just say Winston, did you?"

Dally grumbled from his chair, "She sure as hell did."

"We didn't ask for your input, Dallas," I said curtly and he appeared about ready to snap me in half. _Good_ , I thought with satisfaction. _I HOPE it bothers him. He deserves that, and so much more._

"Y'know what, _little girl_ -"

"What?!" I shouted and Two-Bit had to grab my wrist to hold me back. "If you've got somethin' to say, Dal, then by all means, _say it_!"

My feelings about my brother were awful conflicted. Sure, my heart had led me to Tulsa to find him, but now my head was catching up with said heart. He _abandoned_ me, left me to suffer alone with my parents. I couldn't forgive him for that.

Darry interrupted Dally's exasperated retort by taking a long whiff of the air, scrunching up his nose, then demanding, "What the hell is this, an AA meeting? Are you _all_ drunk?" I would have thought he would have noticed earlier with all the slurring Two-Bit, Echo, and I were doing.

Two-Bit took it upon himself to pipe up, "Well, as far as I know, I most certainly am, little Kris over here is, and Dally prolly is." Dally didn't deny it.

All out of nowhere, Kiara started crying again and we all stared at her. "I-I . . . drank a little, too."

Two-Bit bolted up to his feet then swayed, so I reached up to yank him down again. "You _what_?! Dammit, Kiara, I told ya time and time again to stay the hell away from those kinds of places!"

She began sobbing even harder and Dally audibly groaned. I shot him a venomous glare; was he just _incapable_ of sympathy, or was he an all-around asshole?!

"I drank, too, okay? I made her go!" Echo cried but she shrunk away once she was thrown into the spotlight. "I did, I made her! She didn't want to, but I did."

Darry stood up to his full height, beyond furious, and it was beginning to sink in how tall he really was. I would hate to have been in her position right then; Darry looked downright frightening. "Echo Holly Curtis, I can't believe you! I told you to _never_ step even a toe into one of Buck's parties! And not only that, but you _lied_ to me! And you _drank_ , too?! What the hell is wrong with you? How could you be so _stupid_? I thought you were smarter than that! I thought you were _better_ than that!"

Tears gleamed in her rich brown eyes and I wondered whether this whole thing was going to become a full-fledged sob fest. If so, then the front door was looking mighty fine right about now. "Darry, I'm so-"

"No, I don't want to hear it," he said coldly. His eyes were chips of blue ice. "Since you lied through your goddamn teeth, if you had been hurt, then I wouldn't have known where you were! And _hell_ , you were hurt! Because you went to that damn party in the first place! If the police had been called, Social Services would have been all over this and you would have been thrown in a foster home so fast your head would spin!"

 _Why would she be thrown in a foster home?_ I asked myself and then it hit me. _They must be orphans._ I looked at them in a whole new light, and Darry with a whole new respect.

A sickly green color washed over Echo's cheeks and I realized she really must have drank too much- or she was a total lightweight, one of the two. Soda helped to her feet and she raced over to the bathroom, clutching at her stomach. I heard the retching sounds from all the way over here.

"How much did she drink?" Darry demanded from Kiara as Soda held Echo's long red hair back. Man, he was great-looking, sweet, and compassionate.

I looked up at the ceiling and whispered, "God, good job, _good job_." I flicked up my thumbs and nodded with approval.

Darry continued, bringing me back to reality, "I need to know if this is from the concussion or the alcohol."

Kiara looked like she had been placed on death row, selling out her friend like that. "A couple shots, a couple other drinks. I don't know. She's definitely drunk, but not, like, Two-Bit drunk."

He sighed angrily and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "One of us is gonna have to stay up with her tonight, make sure she doesn't have a concussion."

"I'll do it," Soda called from the bathroom and my heart melted again. I was half-expecting angel wings to spring out of his back and a golden halo to form over his equally golden locks. "You have work tomorrow."

"Thanks, little buddy," Darry yelled back. "Use my room so you won't keep Pony up!"

"All right, I will!"

"I can stay up with her if you need, Darry," Pony said, rising to his feet. It was clear as day that he didn't quite mean it though so Darry denied him of that request (Pony was so very grateful) but did order him to bed. Pony said a soft goodbye to everyone, then disappeared into his bedroom.

Darry looked at all of us individually then sighed. "Well, I don't know fully what happened to y'all and at this point I really don't wanna know. Feel free to grab any ice or whatever you may need for your injuries. Y'all, as always, are welcome to stay the night. But Dally, and you," he said, pointing a finger in my face, "don't you two be yellin' at each other all night or you're both out."

"Thanks, Darry," we all said in unison. _No promises_ , I added silently.

"Yeah, yeah, you say that when I give you free things." Two-Bit smiled sheepishly, not bothering to protest against that. "Kiki, why don't you come sleep in Echo's room? She's gonna be in my room tonight with Soda and I will be in our parents' room."

"Thank you, Darry, and I'm sorry about tonight," she whimpered, still recovering from her cry. Two-Bit still wasn't happy with her, nor forgiven her, so the tension between the two was almost palpable. She tried to tell him goodnight but it fell on deaf ears, so she stared down at the floor morosely.

I was about to elbow some sense into Two-Bit when Darry walked over and gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder before departing to a room down the hall. She quietly retreated into Echo's room, thoroughly rejected. _I'll talk to Two-Bit about being less of a dick about that when I'm less drunk,_ I vowed to myself.

The black-haired boy with the greasy bangs (I just found out his name was Johnny) told us he was gonna go spend the night in the lot, wherever that was, and Steve decided to mosey it on home, so that left the couch for us three.

"Well, Two-Bit, wanna share the couch?" I asked, yawning and putting my feet up. I stretched out, grinning as he nodded.

"No!" Dally snapped, making moves to shove me off. "I don't want you two sleepin' on the same couch."

Two-Bit protested valiantly on my behalf, "C'mon, Dal, don't be mean to be new little friend. She's got a mighty big hangover coming to sleep off. And you know me, I can't sleep on a floor to save my life."

"Yeah, buddy," I snarked at him, getting comfortable on the dusty, musty-smelling (yet comfortingly so) cushions of the couch. "You snooze, you lose."

Dally just rolled his eyes and switched off the lights, resigning to the fact that he would be sleeping in the armchair. I think he was too exhausted and drunk to really care one way or another, he just liked being difficult. Or at least, that was my personal take on it.

Two-Bit insisted that, since he was nearly a foot taller (I didn't stand a millimeter over five-foot-two), he should have more room. What ended up happening was that he _did_ get his required legroom, but I just splayed myself on top of him, using him as a pillow. Or a teddy bear. A bit of both. He said he didn't mind 'cause, as he put it, I was as light as a feather in the wind so I made sure to hit him before shutting my eyes in hopes of sleep.

Maybe my move to Tulsa wasn't turning out to be such a bad thing. Yeah, Dally was more of a prick than I remembered, but I never knew him for his charming personality or irresistible charisma.

But this move was turning out to be more worthwhile than I had originally anticipated because I already made a new friend, even if he was a good six years older. We were going to be close, I just knew it.

No, this wasn't gonna be bad at all. So, when I closed my eyes, sleep came more easily than it had in a long time but a nagging thought still ate away at me, bite by bite. _What are you going to do about Dally?_

I slipped into a slumber, peaceful enough, but with that question left _entirely_ unanswered.


	6. Overload

**A/N: Helloooooooooooooooo there! Hey, just stop for a minute and picture if someone greeted Dallas Winston like that. He'd hand them their ass so fast. . . . Random thought. Anyway, thanks soooo much for the reads, alerts, favorites, and reviews! You guys are the** ** _best_** **. Please read, review, and enjoy, awesome people! :) Thanks!**

 **P.S. Just a little reminder, in this story, we regressed Johnny's age slightly. He's fifteen. You'll see why we did that as the story develops.**

 **P.P.S. Another random thought here. We tend to have a lot of those. This spawns from watching a binge of Supernatural- we're brand new fans, just started watching, and it's AWESOME. Could you imagine a demon or ghost or something haunting the Curtis house, and like, the Winchester brothers come to investigate in their kickass Impala? Just take a moment to savor that. Dallas Winston** **vs. the Winchester brothers. And don't forget Two-Bit, talk about a sass-off. Also, imagine if the TARDIS just landed in the Curtis living room, and the Eleventh Doctor comes waltzing out with his bowtie and suspenders? Their reactions would be** ** _priceless_** **. Okay, random thought time over. Most of you are probably thinking, "OMG, when is she going to get to the frickin' frackin' story?!" The answer to that question is: now.**

 **Chapter 6: Overload**

 **Echo's Perspective**

"Rise and shine!" The cruel, cruel words shot jolts of pain through my head- Darry was being a right bastard. "Come on, Echo, get up!" He was flat out yelling.

"Stooooooooooop," I whined, burying my head into my pillow. My head was throbbing like nothing else, a combination of the hangover and my head injury. "I don't _wanna_!" On a positive note, though, the dizziness that occurred after I had hit my head had completely disappeared. I was starting to think that I didn't have a concussion at all, it was probably just a bump on my head. But I didn't know for sure.

"Echo, it's your fault that you drank last night, so you're going to have to get up and face the morning light." He grabbed me by my wrists and hauled me up, ignoring my protests. It was then that I noticed Soda was gone from Darry's bed; he had been responsibly checking on me every hour or so for the majority of the night. Maybe Darry had taken over, just because he woke up so early.

The light that poured in after he opened up the curtains was _sheer agony_. I wanted to scream and cry but Darry just unsympathetically pushed me into the kitchen. Two-Bit, Dally, and Kris (who apparently was Dally's little sister?!) were sleeping off their hangovers in the living room. Kris was awkwardly on top of Two-Bit, using him as a mattress, but he was a deep sleeper so I doubted he even noticed.

"Can I have some coffee, Dar?" I pleaded as he poured himself a cup. He had to head off to work soon.

"Nope," he said almost cheerfully and I scowled at him- he just loved watching me suffer. "You deserve it, kiddo."

"I know," I moaned into my hands. "I'm real sorry, Dar. I messed up bigtime."

"That you did," he said, making no efforts to assuage my guilt. "And you ain't getting away with it, either. I've got to head into work soon but you got to know, this isn't anywhere _near_ over."

"You really are being unreasonable, Darry, it was one mistake," I groaned, chugging down a glass of milk that was sitting on the table- hopefully for me.

"One mistake, really, Echo?" His voice gradually began raising in volume and I knew it wouldn't be too long until our house guests were rudely awoken. "What has been up with you lately? It's like you're trying to get your butt thrown out of here! Do you want to leave? Is that it? Do you not want to live here anymore?" He slammed his palms down on the table and looked me right in the eye and I knew he was dead serious. "Because, if that's the case, you gotta tell me, not pull this crap. This has got to stop!"

"Darry, stop doing that to me! No, I don't wanna get thrown out, but I don't even _know_ anymore, maybe it would be easier than putting up with your crap," I almost yelled, and I was the one who caused our guests to stir. I didn't care, I was _mad_. It's like he was _always_ threatening me and I was sick of it.

"Don't you use that tone with me, young lady!" He was using his height to his advantage, trying to scare me. "You are already grounded for life and don't think you will be seein' the inside of a car anytime soon after last night."

I gasped; he knew that was the one thing that remained constant in my life, the one thing I loved: cars.

"You're so _mean_! All you do is boss me and Pony around, gosh, if it weren't for Sodapop you would have kicked our butts to the curb a while back!" I screamed, now waking up everyone in the house. "You hate us, I know you do, you _hate_ us!" He blinked in surprise and for once, was lost for words. I hurt him.

In the corner of my eye I saw Soda somberly come out of the hall. He had heard everything. His hair was wet so he was likely in the shower when this all started. I felt a little guilty for worrying him but at this point it was too late to calm down.

"What the fuck are you two screamin' about this damn early?" Dally groaned, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. Two-Bit and Kristina were both moaning and bitching as well, their hangovers evidently taking effect.

"Ask _him_!" I shrieked in exasperation. I knew I was being a tad dramatic but I was in too much pain to care. My head pounded faster with every move and sound, so I just decided my best chance was to book it. I threw open the door as fast as I could and jumped over the fence so I could race down the street.

"Get back here!" I heard Darry yell behind me but I was far enough away where it was no more than a faint cry. Tears were streaming down my face. Now Darry would hate me more than he already did. And he already wanted me gone, out of his hair. He probably wished I was dead.

I ran and ran and ran until I saw the old tires and dead grass that symbolized home for so long. This was the empty field, the lot, where we had shared many good memories. We still played football here every once in a while but it was rare for us all to put aside time to be a family.

In the back, there was my old car I had adored since I was little. My daddy found scraps in the junkyard for Soda and I when I turned eight, scraps of different cars. He called it our "family project"; we were going to make the Curtis family another car. It was one of the few things left I had from my dad. I climbed into the back seat of the old thing and just let myself cry for a while. I wanted my old family back.

I hadn't known how long I had been gone when I heard a gentle knock against the side of the car. Looking up I saw a good friend of mine, Johnny Cade, standing outside.

"Are you okay, Echo?" he asked, unsure of himself, from outside.

Turning away from him so he wouldn't see me blubbering like a baby, I said, "Please, Johnny, just go. Leave me alone."

Ignoring my wishes, Johnny opened up the door and scooted beside me, closing it after him. He said nothing else, just put his arm around me and I leaned into his chest for support. His steady heartbeat comforted me, like a lullaby. He just let me cry and that was exactly what I needed.

Johnny wasn't like most greaser boys, he was kind, gentle, handsome, and just plain _different_. He had always been there for me and he always seemed to find his way to me when I was feeling low. I loved him for that.

After a long while of collecting myself and enjoying being in Johnny's presence I finally took a deep breath and explained, "I messed up, Johnnycake. I messed up real bad."

He didn't respond, instead just waited for me to explain myself. I loved that about him, too, he just _listened_.

I explained all last night's events and this morning's as well. When I finished I just sat and waited for him to say something, but all he did was look at me and give me a sweet smile. "You messed up, Echo, but it ain't the end of everything. We all make mistakes, but I'm bettin' right now that your family is worried sick and looking for you."

"I don't think Darry will forgive me. I said some really mean stuff and I-I just don't wanna face him. I'm scared. I'm real scared."

He took a minute then nudged my chin so I was looking him in his kind, warm black eyes. "Darry, Soda, and Pony will always forgive you. They're your family and they'd do anything for you. And if you're scared we will go back together. You and me."

"Only if you're sure. It's okay if you don't want to." I was testing if he was just being nice. He looked at me with an earnest smile and grabbed my hand.

We exited the car and walked hand and hand back home. I had to have been gone about a half an hour because the stores were opening and people were beginning to fill up the sidewalks.

"How did you find me anyway?" I asked, leaning my head on his denim-clad shoulder. He smelled like hair grease but I didn't mind.

"I slept in the lot and I heard you crying," he informed me.

As he walked beside me, I got to take at all five feet and seven inches of him. His big black eyes focused ahead of us but his hand still held mine close. Today he was wearing a jean jacket (as usual), with jeans and a black t-shirt. The white, jagged scar on his face was prominent against his tan skin and he normally was real skittish all the time, but he wasn't right now. Maybe he felt safe with me, just like I did with him.

He was treated awfully by his parents and we hated it, but we couldn't do much about it. Around a year ago, he got jumped by some socs, giving him the scar and various other injuries. Around nine or ten months or so ago he killed a Soc in self-defense. But he did it to save Pony and it was real brave of him. I admired him for that.

We turned onto my street to see my brothers crawling into the car, likely to go hunt me down. Dally was outside on the porch bench, smoking a cancer stick. He noticed us first and a sly grin came over his face.

"Aw, _look_ , our neighborhood drama queen decided to come on home." He looked annoyed but when he noticed I was with Johnny he actually smiled a real, genuine smile. "Hey, Johnnycake."

My brothers' and Dally's eyes fell on us and Jonny gave me a small squeeze to show his support. I walked to the front yard with nobody saying nothin' when Sodapop came over to me and squatted down to my level. I felt fresh tears flow over and he wiped them away. "You scared us half to death, ya know. I told him to give ya some space but then you didn't come back. Don't do that to us, Echo. C'mon, now, don't cry. You don't gotta cry no more."

I let my head fall in shame. "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything."

He gave me a hug and I welcomed it gratefully, knowing Darry wouldn't be so forgiving.

I looked up at my brothers. Ponyboy was already bored with the whole thing and making his leisurely way back inside, along with Dally. I nodded to Johnny, signifying that I could do this on my own, and he followed the two boys. Soda nudged me toward Darry's direction but Darry just stared, almost blankly.

"Dar," I began, though it was difficult through my tears. "Darry, I'm so sorry. For everything. I didn't mean what I said earlier. I wanna stay here. This is my home and you do a good job takin' care of us. I was just mad."

He didn't say anything for a real long time and right when I was afraid he was preparing to disown me, he pulled me into a half-hug. "I know you're sorry. But Echo, you gotta see my side of this. All I'm doing is trying to protect you and you ain't making that easy for me."

I buried my face into his side. "I know, Darry."

"Look, Echo, you're my baby sister. I'm just doing what I think is right here. So when I ground you or yell, it's because I'm tryin' to make sure you stay safe. So, when we talk about this later, because this ain't over, you just gotta understand that. You dig?"

"I dig." He squeezed me tight, nearly squashing me with all his muscles, then said,

"I got to head off to work, guys. I don't want to be late." He headed toward his truck, climbing in the driver's side.

"Bye, Darry!" I called after him as he backed out of the driveway. "I love you," I whispered as he drove off. He didn't hear me.


	7. Trust is Overrated

**A** **/N: Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! If we haven't said it enough, let us** **  
** **reiterate: YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! Seriously, the BEST!**

 **Now, for those of you who are anxious for more Kris, no worries! Not only does she play a large role in this chapter, the next chapter is a** ** _long_** **Kris chapter, and we will post it as soon as possible. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter 7: Trust is Overrated**

 **Kiki's Perspective**

I was thoroughly relieved to see Echo traipse back into the house along with Soda and Johnny. Yeah, it gave me the time to call my mom and tell her Two-Bit and I slept over at the Curtises (which happened quite often). I conveniently left out the whole party incident. But anyway, it was great to have Echo back because Dally and Kris's petty bickering had been annoying the heck out of me.

See, Kris and Two-Bit were both hit hard in the hangover department, and thus, Kris was in a less than cheerful mood. It was real hard to bring Two-Bit down, but he was still mad at me. Damn, that boy could hold a _grudge_. Everyone knew him as happy-go-lucky and careless, but they never really noticed the other side of him. He was so overprotective of me.

Dally and Kris had been shooting each other death glares for the last hour or so. I couldn't begin to fathom why. Sure, they appeared to have a complicated history, but I figured if they truly hadn't seen each other in years, then the reunion would be more bittersweet.

Apparently not. She could barely stand to be in his presence and he acted like he just wanted her to slither back to wherever she came from.

Another odd thing was that neither of them addressed the fact that she _was_ here, or _why_. They were just so focused on being angry with each other that it never came up. There was something beneath that anger, though, something else entirely. Disappointment.

It wasn't obvious in any shape or form, but it was there and I was by far the most perceptive of everyone in the room. She seemed a bit put out with his angry and violent personality, perhaps he wasn't always like that, and I saw him look her up and down a few times in surprise. What I knew about Dally is that he ran away from home when he was about eleven (he was eighteen now), and she looked about twelve or thirteen, so it was quite possible that last time he saw her was when she was five or six.

She must have looked so different. She wasn't a picture of purity at the moment with her smeared mascara and eyeliner and messy, hangover-style hair and drunkenness from last night. . . .

I walked over to Echo to escape from the warzone and noticed the red rims of her eyes. She could act as tough as she liked, but I knew how deeply she felt about things. It was all a facade. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," she sniffled and I just nodded, knowing that to be far from the truth.

"Come on, guys." As always, Soda tried to be the one to cheer everyone up. "It's the first day of summer! Steve and I don't got work until three, but he's with Evie now anyway. We should celebrate the first day of summer, and Echo, this may be the most freedom you have in a while."

She looked at him with a weak smile and turned to lean into me slightly. I knew she didn't want to go but she would so she didn't look bad. I gave her a squeeze on the shoulder for support and it granted me a nod.

"That'll be fun, we could pop by the Dingo for some grub, then maybe head to the bowling alley," Two-Bit said, taking another swig of a beer he must have grabbed while I wasn't looking. Oh, Two-Bit's logic. Trying to recover from a hangover with more alcohol.

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Two-Bit. What you guys think, we could show our new friend the neighborhood and get a little sun? Have an early lunch?" Soda smiled, looking at his sister with hopeful eyes. I highly doubted that there was anyone in the universe who could say no to that face.

Johnny quietly said, "I'm up for it."

Almost immediately after he said that a smile spread across Echo's face and she straightened her posture. "I guess since I won't be out of the house for a while, might as well grab at the chance."

"I would be more than happy to go," I said, laughing to myself at Echo's reaction. She never said it directly but I could see she had a crush on him. It was rather obvious.

"I'll go," Pony piped up, moving to stand near Johnny. I nearly jumped when he spoke; I forgot he was here for a second. Of course he wanted to come. He followed Soda like a little puppy dog follows their momma. I didn't mind, though, we got along okay.

Dally looked about ready to agree when something occurred to him. "Wait a second, Kris, could you not look like a damn whore?"

I wanted to slap my forehead but Dally would probably deck me one so I refrained. He just didn't have a nice bone in his body. Kristina looked like she had been slapped across the face for a split second until her expression hardened.

"Dally!" Two-Bit growled, half-serious for once. "My kid sister's in the room and you shouldn't be talking to your kid sister like that either."

Kristina ignored him, approaching Dally with an angry glower firmly in place. "Hey, Dal, could you not look like a damn prick? Oh, wait, you _are_ a prick!"

 _Oh dear God_ , I thought. _She's just like him!_ Dally was beginning to take on his famous 'dangerous' look and I feared for her safety.

"Echo, Kiki, girls, could you please go clean up while we talk to these two for a second?" Soda pleaded, ushering us out. Just like Two-Bit, he seemed strangely serious because I knew Soda didn't like people speaking like that in front of his baby sister.

Ponyboy and Two-Bit were watching the whole exchange with wide, interested eyes but Johnny just looked plain miserable. He hated it when people fought around him. My heart ached for him.

"Oooh, Dally's in deep shit!" Echo laughed as we left.

"Echo!" Soda yelled from down the hall after hearing her little comment. I was a little surprised. He never acted this stern, that was solely Darry's job.

We both entered her room and she fell onto her bed, still laughing. "Man, I like her."

"I don't know what I think of her yet, we have said like one word to each other- if that." I didn't really like Kris much in all honesty, she seemed like trouble and with all the drama still going on with the Socs she would only make it worse. And we _really_ didn't need another Winston hanging around.

"Hey, she seems like she plans on hanging around so we might as well get used to her. She doesn't seem all bad, she did help us out last night with the fight," Echo reminded, searching through her drawers for something to change into.

"I ain't ever seen a girl fight like that, not even Angel," I said with reluctant admiration. "She fights like one of the guys."

"Is that a bad thing? I hear the Socs are now into jumping any greaser, no matter age or gender. They've been after blood since Johnny killed Bob, even though that was _months_ ago. At least she can protect herself," Echo added, tossing me one of her dresses.

"I'm just sayin', Echo, I think we need to keep an eye on her. We don't know anything about her."

"Well it ain't like anyone asked," said a foreign voice in the doorway. We both spun around to see Kristina Winston leaning against the wall, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mean it like that." I was blushing like crazy and from the corner of my eye I could see Echo's mortified expression.

She waved it off, walking into the room without invitation. "Don't waste your breath, mini-Mathews. I don't give a crap." Kristina now glanced over to Echo. "Apparently wearin' clothes like this ain't a great idea in this area so I've been sent to change. Now, normally I would argue, but the babe asked me to."

"Ew, that's my brother!" Echo chided, slightly disgusted.

"Least you get to live in the same house with him." Wow, she really did not think that one through.

"That's. My. BROTHER!"

"Anyway, red, whatcha got for me?" She sat on the bed and waited expectantly. I fought the urge to gape at her. She had _no_ manners whatsoever. God, she really _was_ a lot like Dally, probably a lot more than she liked to admit.

"Okay, hold up, I don't know how they do things in your parts but before you start asking for stuff, people usually introduce themselves at the very least," Echo said, putting her hands on her hips.

She arched an eyebrow at her in an almost Two-Bit-like way. "Haven't ya figured it out yet? I'm the prick's little sister. Kristina Winston, at your service. Your name's Echo, ain't it? What the hell kinda name's that?"

Echo's expression shifted from annoyed to pissed off in an instant. "If you don't like my name, you can get the hell out of my house. Other people may put up with your shit but this is my house and you can get another attitude or leave."

If I were the target of that tirade, I would have balked and scuttled out with my tail between my legs. Kristina did no such thing. She slowly, leisurely, like she had all the time in the world, stood to her feet and got up into Echo's personal space. A flash of fear crossed Echo's face but she defiantly stood her ground.

I was half-expecting Kristina to punch her right then and there but much to my utter surprise, she drawled casually, "I like you, red. You got a backbone." That had to be jab toward me.

Echo was taken back but she recovered quickly. "Much obliged." She turned around and rummaged through her drawers till she pulled out a denim mini skirt, a red tank top, and cowgirl boots. Handing it to Kristina she said, "Should fit, bathroom's down the hall."

Kristina's lips curled up into a lopsided grin. "Well, I guess you ain't as sweet and innocent as they make you out to be because this sure ain't the sweet little dress I think they were hoping you'd give me."

After that, the sassy blonde made her exit and Echo shut the door behind her, smiling slightly. "I think she will fit in just fine."

I wasn't so sure.


	8. True Colors

**A/N: Hellooooooooooo! Here's that long Kris chapter we promised! In this chapter, the Shepard brothers make an appearance and they will be part of this story from now on :), especially Curly. We've hinted so far that the Socs have remained a problem, even after Bob's death, and the problem reveals itself in this chapter.**

 **Warning: There's some fairly strong profanity in this chapter, especially near the end because there's a dangerous situation and Kristina is very angry. There is also some violence at the end, because of this situation.**

 **Guys, thanks so much for the reads and reviews! It means soooo much to us, so just . . . thanks! Now, please read, review, and enjoy! :) Thanks!**

 **Chapter 8: True Colors**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

That little redhead had _gall_. I could tell she was expecting me to flip a switch like Dally would've, but I was more impressed than anything. Now _that_ was somebody I could be friends with, not the little sniveling mouse of a mini-Mathews.

Echo was right, the clothes did fit me well enough. The cowgirl boots were a nice touch. I used their mirror to apply more mascara and eyeliner (I found some near the sink) but also to clean up the makeup already smeared across my face. A tube of lipstick was resting near the rest of the makeup, and to annoy Dally, I decided to put it on. My lips turned from their usual pale pinkish color to a bright, obnoxious red. I smirked at the mirror before taking my leave.

Sodapop, Ponyboy, Two-Bit, Johnny, and Dally were all itching to go. Echo entered the bathroom as I exited it and I joined the rest of the gang. My head was still pounding like a bitch but I showed no signs of it.

Dally glanced over to me and took in my outfit and face. "Oh hell no."

"Oh hell _yes_ ," I snapped back, taking a seat near my new buddy Two-Bit and Ponyboy. Ponyboy was rather cute himself. "Dal, you can suck a d-" I cut myself off as Kiki entered the room, which was good, because Dally probably would have murdered me if I had finished that sentence. Even when I _didn't_ finish it I wasn't so sure he wasn't about to kill me, based on his expression.

Sodapop told the two of us in no uncertain terms to cool off the swearing and bad language around his sister and Two-Bit's, and since he was so good-looking, I decided to find it in the black, shriveled up cockles of my heart to listen.

"So, tell us about yourself, Kristina," Soda said, attempting to keep Dally and I from going at it again, I assumed.

I looked over at Dally to see if he would give any explanation at all but he didn't, so I said, "I'm from Brooklyn. Left a couple days ago 'cause I decided to pay my dear old brother a visit." I grinned at him but he remained stony as ever. _Asshole_ , I thought.

Ponyboy spoke up for what I thought was the first time, "Is that the only reason you left Brooklyn then, to see Dally?"

He somehow caught my lie. _Just great_ , I thought angrily. "Um . . . it's a long story."

Dally eyed me intently, finally breaking past his dickiness for a moment just because he was plain curious. He had a lot of catching up to do. "How's the old man?"

"Been in prison for two years," I said curtly and if he cared at all, he didn't show it.

"What about Momma?" I didn't know why he even bothered to ask.

"A lot worse than before," I spat out. This was _Dally's_ fault. He _left_ me with her, with both of them. I was his favorite person in the world, his baby sister. He promised he would never leave me but he was just a goddamn liar.

The atmosphere of the room turned very awkward then but I was too angry with Dally to notice.

Dally only grunted. That's all I got. A noncommittal _grunt_. I could have killed him right then- I mean it. I could have killed him.

I was so furious I wanted to cry so it was real good timing when Echo entered the room and announced, "I'm ready to go!"

I stormed past Dally, who was standing near the doorway, and bumped him in the shoulder along the way- _hard_. It took everything in me to not just outright sock him in the nose. The bastard deserved it.

Darry had taken the truck to work and Two-Bit's car was still at Buck's, so we had to walk. Subconsciously, I edged over to Two-Bit and he looked down at me sympathetically. I didn't know what it was about him that made me feel so comfortable, but I found myself leaning my head against his arm as we walked.

I guess I just needed some big brother right now and Dally sure as hell wasn't going to fulfill that need. I caught Kiki looking over at us jealously and I remembered that I was going to tell Two-Bit to lay off her.

Nudging him in the side, I allowed the rest of the gang to move ahead of us a little ways before I said, "Don't ya think you should give Kiki a break?"

"Little Kris, don't you worry your pretty little curly head over that," he said cheerfully, sticking out his arm for me to take like a perfect gentleman. Smirking, I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow but I still wasn't done.

"She's your kid sister and I can tell how much ya care about her," I said conversationally, but I couldn't help but think, _I wish I had a brother like that_. "She screwed up, yeah, but she's tried to apologize like fifty damn times. Just give her a chance, Two-Bit." I so did not know why I was going to bat for her.

He tried to play it off as a joke. "I barely met ya and you give me a lecture worthy of my mom?"

I didn't even crack a smile, however much I wanted to. "You two are family and it looks like you're close. Don't take that for granted 'cause it hurts when . . . when you ain't close no more."

His gray eyes were sharp and strangely perceptive. "Speakin' from experience there, young Krissy?"

I flinched at the nickname, though I tried to hide it. Dally and occasionally my mother had been the only person to ever call me that. But she picked it up from Dally. "Yeah, maybe I am. So I can say with complete certainty that you don't wanna fuck up what you have with your kid sister, ya dig?"

He didn't say anything else but I could tell he was thinking real hard about it. The entire group of us walked in a pleasant silence until we reached the Dingo. A lot of greasers and hoods were bumming around the diner but there were a couple empty booths inside for us. The place reeked of cigarettes and I wrinkled up my nose. I didn't smoke.

"Here we are," Sodapop said happily, scooting into one of the booths after Echo and Ponyboy. Much to my liking, Two-Bit sat across from them and after a moment's hesitation yanked Kiki in after him, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She grinned real wide and while I was happy for the both of them, I had to push away the stab of envy that formed as I observed the pair.

Johnny sat with Two-Bit and Kiki and I sat on the headrest of Echo's seat (the backrest was surprisingly wide, and others were doing it) in the middle with my legs curled up, my knees near Pony's head. He didn't seem to mind too much. I absentmindedly, without thinking it through, stroked his greasy light auburn hair and he shyly smiled up at me. Blushing, I removed my hand. _Well_ , _that was dumb_ , I thought, mentally kicking myself.

Dally did the same thing as me, sitting on the headrest of the seat with his legs draped over the side. Luckily, the tables were empty behind the two of us so we weren't disturbing anyone. Our eyes met for a split second but I had to look away, keeping my eyes glued on the table.

A busty waitress came on over and Two-Bit smiled at her wolfishly. "Why hello there, darlin'."

"Two-Bit, you got a girlfriend," Kiki scolded in a voice barely above a whisper and Two-Bit looked a little startled, like he had forgotten. I rolled my eyes at him and he discreetly flipped me off under the table.

"What can I get y'all?" the waitress asked, pulling out her notepad from her back pocket.

Sodapop asked everybody what they wanted and we came to the consecutive decision of everybody having a burger and a milkshake, and all of us splitting two baskets of fries. Soda, Dally, and Two-Bit were splitting the bill.

A couple guys plopped down in the booth behind me but I didn't even bother turn around to look, even though I was sitting on their backrest too. They shifted around a bit and I gradually felt eyes bore into the back of my head, so I finally turned around to look at them.

There were two of them: both hoods, probably. One looked around Dally's age, maybe a little older, with curly black hair and dark blue eyes and a jagged scar running from the temple to his chin. His nose was crooked, like it had been broken before- maybe more than once.

The other boy had to be his little brother because he was a miniature version of him, only without the scar and crooked nose. He was maybe fifteen or sixteen. The older one was staring at me with something akin to fascination while the younger one was looking at me with a flirtatious smirk playing at his lips.

"Can I help ya?" I asked them, a little annoyed. Soda, Echo, and Ponyboy all turned around to look over at them and recognition dawned on their features.

"Oh, hey there, Curly," Ponyboy greeted the younger boy. He nodded in return.

"Hey, Tim," Soda and Two-Bit said in unison, and he nodded gruffly at both of them. Were these guys incapable of returning a greeting or were they just plain rude?

The older one, Tim, piped up, "I can't help but notice that you look an awful lot like Winston over there."

I knit my eyebrows together. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." The boy named Curly laughed softly.

The older one asked like he didn't really care all that much, "You new here?" Did I just give off this vibe or something? I guess I acted very New Yorker-like, but I didn't think it was _that_ obvious.

"Just came in from Brooklyn."

He said, sticking out his hand for me to shake, "My name's Shepard. Tim Shepard." His hand was rough and calloused, but warm.

A joke bubbled up inside of me and I just couldn't smash it down. "And my name's Bond. James Bond." I heard just about everyone's (even _Dally's_ ) quiet snickers behind me and Curly choked a laugh into his hand.

I'll give Tim credit, he managed to ignore that jibe with his dignity intact. "Watch your mouth, kid. You related to Winston over there?"

I avoided his question with, "Wait, so you're Tim Shepard? I've heard of you all the way from New York. You've got quite a rep on ya." I had already met his sister, I remembered.

He was unimpressed with my evasion, so he directed his next question right to Dally. "You two related?"

Holding my breath, I waited for his response. I honestly did not know how he was going to choose to answer that, but I was admittedly a little relieved when he replied, "She's my kid sister."

Both Tim's and Curly's eyebrows skyrocketed with surprise and I introduced myself with, "Name's Kristina Winston."

"Great, just what this town needs, another damn Winston runnin' around all over the place," Tim groaned and I glared at him something fierce. No, dammit, I was not going to be placed into any goddamn category when he only just met me. My last name had lots of power, apparently.

"Well, if you don't like it, then you can mosey it on straight to hell," I informed him sweetly. "I'll hold your coat for ya, might get hot down there."

Everybody (besides Dally, he just looked plain mad, maybe a _little_ impressed) gaped at me. Tim just stared at me like he was torn between being impressed and wanting to slap the sass right out of me. I didn't wait for him to decide. I slid down from the headrest and pulled some loose change out of my pocket. "I'll leave you all to chit-chat, I'm gonna go pick a song." I left them all with a huge smirk on my face.

I heard Tim say, "Well, Winston, she's sure as hell your sister," as I walked away and my smirk was wiped clean off. I angrily stuffed one of the coins into the juke box and flipped through the selection of songs, finally picking one of my favorite Beatles' songs.

"Not many people stand up to Tim Shepard like that." I glanced up to see Curly Shepard leaning against the side of the juke box with his arms crossed. He was grinning down at me.

"I'm one of a kind," I said teasingly, standing up straight to my full height. He was a good half a foot taller than me, maybe more, so it didn't make much of a difference.

"I can tell ya are," he replied, and he was actually being sincere. _Huh_. "My name's Curly Shepard, by the way, since ya didn't ask."

I held out my hand for him to shake, and he did. His hand was a lot more gentle than his brother's. "You're right, I didn't. But it's nice to meet ya, Curly Shepard. You already know my name's Kristina, but you can call me Kris if you really want to." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

"All right, Kris, well, how long you've been in town for?" he asked curiously.

"Just got here last night," I informed him. "Went to Buck's party. That was fun. Got in a fight. That was fun, too." I refrained from telling him that his sister was there.

"Our gang got in a little fight with the River Kings so I had to miss it," he said regretfully.

"Well, ya missed out," I told him unhelpfully, smiling again to lessen the blow of my words.

He leaned in closer and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Dally watching us very carefully. "I can give ya a tour of the town, if you want."

I so wanted to take him up on that, but it looked like that the gang wanted to show me around themselves. "Thanks for the offer, but I think they," I pointed at my table, "are gonna show me around after lunch. Somethin' like that."

He leaned in even closer, close enough for me to smell the rancid cigarette stench on his breath. Lovely. "Where you stayin'?"

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I was supposed to talk to Buck after the party. . . . _Whoops_. "I stayed with the Curtises last night, but I have a room at Buck's. Well, at least I _think_ I do," I added as an afterthought.

Dally hopped down from his perch on the headrest and began approaching us, so Curly said rather hurriedly, "Well, Kris Winston, I hang around Buck's a lot. Hope I see ya around."

I grinned at him as he walked backwards to his table. "Well, Curly Shepard, it looks I will."

He smiled at me one last time before joining Tim in the booth again. Dally glowered down at me, but for once it didn't ruin my good mood. "What was that all about? You and Shepard?"

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about, Dallas," I retorted, practically skipping back to the table to hoist myself back on the headrest. Curly winked at me and grinning, I popped a salty french fry in my mouth from one of the baskets that just arrived.

The tour they gave me was interesting. They showed me the DX, Jay's Diner, the arcade, the bowling alley, etc. They laid careful emphasis on places _not_ to go, though, like on the west, Soc-y part of town and to not cross the territory of gangs like the River Kings or Tiber Street Tigers. I knew how gangs worked, though. I was part of one.

Two-Bit, Ponyboy, and Johnny were all caught up in the arcade. Dally had left in the middle of the tour to do God knows what, Soda left for work, and I was bored shitless. Arcade games were never quite my forte.

Echo was watching them, her eyes dull and lifeless with apathy. I leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Wanna ditch?" She nodded vehemently, then turned to Kiki to ask the same question. _Ugh, she's bringing her along_ , I thought grumpily.

Soon enough, the three of us slipped away and stood blinking rapidly in the bright sunlight. "Well, now what?" I asked to the both of them. "C'mon, amuse me."

"Well-" Echo was rudely cut off as a shiny white mustang pulled up in the small arcade parking lot, a handful of nicely dressed, rich kids climbing out. Those had to the Socs they were telling me about.

They didn't look all that dangerous, in fact, they were just heading into the arcade. Weird, they had to have had their own. Maybe they were looking to pick a fight with a greaser or two. But then they saw us.

"Hey, look-y over there!" one of them hooted, pointing right at us. "Greasy girls, all on their lonesome." Great, my first real day and already some assholes had to start something that they definitely were _not_ going to want to finish when I was through with them. I fought with Crips and Bloods before, I could take a few snobby Socs, even if there were five of 'em.

Kiki instinctively moved behind the both of us and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Just stay cool," Echo urgently told the both of us but I didn't need her telling me that. I wasn't worried at all.

"Guys, maybe we should make a break for it and go back into the arcade," Kiki hissed as the boys came closer and closer. I shrugged.

"You go, I ain't runnin' away from prissy boys like them." Echo loyally stayed by my side but Kiki was tensed to run.

"Go on, Kiki, go on now," said Echo a little fearfully. They were almost upon us. "Go get the guys." Kiki didn't need to be told twice. She broke away from us and made a dash for the arcade doors, her waves of rusty red hair flowing behind her. The Socs didn't even bother to stop her- no, they were too focused on us.

My hand gravitated over to my back pocket when I remembered that my switchblade was in my pants at Buck's place. _No, no, dammit_ , I thought. I was so focused on getting drunk last night that I somehow managed to forget it. _Just great._ Now I was just the tiniest bit concerned.

The Socs grinned at us all lopsided-like. Echo was trembling slightly next to me but she toughed it out and stood her ground. "Well, hey there, what are two such pretty _greasy_ girls doin' on their lonesome around here?" one of them with curly brown hair and an ugly shirt taunted. He stepped forward with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Your kind just leave you alone for friendly passerby like us? Somethin' could happen. Somethin' bad."

I just stared at him, amused at his attempts to scare us, while Echo balled up her fists and growled, "Y'all stay away from us now. Go on, get lost."

They had the nerve to _laugh_ at her. I narrowed my eyes. If they kept this up, then they were going to wish they had never been born. Ugly Shirt stepped into Echo's personal space, smirking down at her. "It's cute how ya think you've got a chance." His buddies laughed again.

I was mentally debating whether they were just planning on roughing us up or planning to go into a whole new kind of territory. Probably both. But there was no way in hell I'd let that happen.

I was beginning to lose my temper. "You all might want to run right about now. You're pissing me off. If you stay, you ain't gonna like the results."

More laughter. One of the other boys crooned, "You greasy girls got mouths on ya, don'tcha? That's cool. We can work with that."

I arched an eyebrow as Echo cried out, "We ain't scared of you and . . . and she's Dallas Winston's little sister! Touch us and he'll kill ya! He will! Just go ahead and _try_."

I glanced over at her, annoyed as hell. She just _had_ to pull that card. I didn't need his help, whether he was here or not! I could handle it myself, dammit!

A few of the boys looked a little frightened as she said that but Ugly Shirt remained undaunted. "He ain't here, now is he?" He grazed his fingers against my cheek and it took everything in me to keep from biting them off. "Naw, you two greaser girls are _all_ alone, ain't ya? I'm gonna make you regret that-"

Now I was real mad. I grabbed the hand that was still resting on my cheek and wrenched it backwards, smirking as he dropped to his knees in agony. In just a little twist, I could've broken it. I was in control, _me_. Dally wasn't needed in the slightest. "I don't think we're gonna be the ones regrettin' here, Mr. Ugly Shirt."

A couple of boys, to presumably use as leverage against me, gripped Echo tightly by her upper arms, pulling her into their group. Terror gleamed in her wide brown eyes as she struggled against them and I shouted, "Let her go before I make ya!" I tightened the grip I had on Ugly Shirt's wrist and he cringed.

"I don't know, she's real pretty. I think she'd be great entertainment tonight, huh guys?" one of the guys holding Echo said into her neck. She fought against them with all her might but they just found it more funny than anything.

Red was blazing across my vision. That was the one thing I couldn't stand, when somebody beat up somebody smaller, weaker, and more helpless than them. It was just so wrong, so fucking wrong. It reminded me of my father. . . .

I bent Ugly Shirt's wrist back at an unnatural angle and he yelped out in pain. I growled to the other Socs, "Let her go or I'll snap his fucking wrist."

They thought I was just talking trash. "Sure you would. Go ahead, little greaser. I dare you," again one of the boys holding Echo taunted. He repositioned his hold on Echo so his arm wrapped around her neck. "You might as well just let 'im go now, we got the upperhand."

I twisted his wrist far back enough for Ugly Shirt to crumple to the ground, tears shimmering in his baby blue eyes. It wasn't broken . . . yet. "You think I'm bluffing? Go on, test me. Fucking test me. I dare _you_." Ugly Shirt's tears leaked out onto the dirty pavement beneath him.

"Hey, cut that out or I swear your little friend's gonna pay." Again the guy tightened his grip and began to flatout strangle Echo. Echo clawed at his arm desperately, but it was in vain. She couldn't even find the air to cough.

Her squirming increased as the urgency of needing oxygen grew. Her cheeks flushed red then drained blue, and I knew I had to act. They thought I was kidding. They didn't know how far I'd go. I was a Winston.

I snapped his wrist. His hand fell limply to his side as he bellowed out his agony. The other boys gaped at me in pure shock and amazement that I actually _did_ it, but they loosened their grip and Echo sucked in a huge breath. They didn't take their hands off her, though, so I took it a step further in my rage. I slowly stepped down on his wrist and remained impassive to his screams; my one focus was Echo. "Anyone else want to try me?! Let her go, or _I swear to God_ . . . ," I trailed off dangerously.

Just then Two-Bit, Johnny, and Ponyboy ran out with Kiki on their tails. That little bitch took her sweet motherfuckin' time. "Get the hell away from my little sister!" Ponyboy cried.

"Run!" one of the Socs yelled upon seeing the boys and hearing the screeches of his injured buddy beneath my boot.

The one guy dropped Echo and she collapsed onto the ground, coughing and wheezing, tears filling her eyes. The boys caught up and chased after the gang who jumped us, throwing rocks and whatever else they could find. They disloyally left a sobbing Ugly Shirt behind, but the gang hardly even noticed him yet.

Pony and Johnny slid to their knees next to the pale Echo and looked at her in horror as she continued to coughed. Johnny looked extremely nervous but he still helped sit her up.

"What the hell happened?!" Two-Bit yelled, coming back to join us.

Before I could explain, Ugly Shirt began to squirm more under the toe of my boot, so I hauled him up by his injured arm and ignored his shrieks. I felt the gang's eyes bore into me as I hissed into his ear, "Come back again, and I won't be so gentle."


	9. The Aftermath

**A/N: Hey, peeps . . . sorry for the later than usual update. School's a female dog and has been eating away at our time (we're freshmen in high school) but we'll try to update earlier. We tried to make last chapter intense and this chapter reflects the outcome of the situation. Hope you read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **P.S. Thanks sooooooo much for the feedback, guys! It means so much to us and it really urges us to keep writing! You guys are awesome!**

 **Chapter 9: The Aftermath**

 **Echo's Perspective**

I was kicking and clawing at the guy holding me, but it was to no avail. The guy had at least one hundred pounds on me and he was holding me so my feet were dangling in the air, where I had no leverage. After time, I gave up and tried to focus on breathing in however I could manage.

Kris was holding her own and trying to help but as they kept saying, all she had was a useless threat on her side. I was too out of it to really hear what they were saying but the next thing I knew I heard a snap, a scream, more voices and another shriek of pain, before I was thrown to the ground.

Black spots danced before my eyes as I forced air into my lungs. My head pounded as I attempted to regain my composure but I didn't look anywhere but the ground. I knew what Kris had done. She broke his wrist. Truly, I was grateful, Kris had just saved me.

More footsteps clattered around and I was pulled into a gentle hold. I was surprised to realize it was Ponyboy who was holding me but I didn't care, I just wanted to _not_ be on the verge of passing out. "You're all right, Echo," he soothed, brushing the hair out of my face. "You'll be just fine."

"What the hell happened?!" Two-Bit yelled near us.

I finally opened my eyes when rather than a response, Two-Bit's question was met with an ear-splitting cry of agony. I barely heard Kris whisper, "Come back again and I won't be so gentle."

Kris practically threw the guy away from her before turning to us. The Soc stumbled away with his shoulders slumped and his wrist cradled to his chest. "You better run," she muttered under her breath.

They stared at her like she was sprouting a second head. Kiki looked beyond horrified and I feared that she would go on one of her self-righteous rants. Turns out, I was right.

"What was wrong with his wrist?!" she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest in an attempt to look tougher than she really was. "Was it broken? _Why_ was his wrist broken?"

"Kiki, _please_ ," I interrupted but she outright ignored me.

"I did what I had to do to protect her so instead of yelling at me you should be thanking me," Kris growled. Her features darkened and she leaned against the lamp post.

"Gosh, ever since you came to this town everyone around you gets hurt," Kiki snapped with poorly contained anger. I glared at her. She was talking straight out of her ass. Kris just _saved_ me, she didn't need to be hounded like that.

"Get off my back and stop being a little bitch," Kris said harshly. Ponyboy and Johnny visibly cringed away from the two of them. This was getting ugly.

"Hey, you two cut it out," Two-Bit cut in, shooting them both looks that shut them up. "You all right, Echo?" He came over to me and both Pony and he helped pull me to my feet and steady me.

"Fine, just a little lightheaded," I coughed out. Kiki's face was turning red as she stared down Kris who, of course, wasn't backing down.

"What's your problem?" Kiki shouted bravely, balling up her fists by her side. Kris sneered at her and stepped up into her personal space.

" _You_ ," she snarled and I was half-expecting her to just attack her right then and there. I felt Two-Bit tense next to me; he was probably preparing to jump in and protect his kid sister.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Oh yes she was. We all knew it, _all_ of us.

Kris legitimately _smiled_ at her and that was scarier than if she had just outright punched her. "Don't start something you're not going to be up to _finish_." She emphasized the last word in an almost sadistic way. Kiki looked about ready to cry.

"Please don't start anything," I sighed, putting my hands on each of her shoulders to keep them apart.

"No, I think it would be interesting to see this little thing come after me. I'd like to see if she could really do it," Kris laughed, spreading out her arms real wide, leaving herself entirely open for attack. She was taunting Kiki.

"C'mon, guys, let's just get outta here," Ponyboy said, trying to pacify the situation but it was no use. "This ain't gonna get us nowhere."

When nothing happened, Kris smirked and backed off. "You ain't much of a Mathews, are ya?" That was a low blow. Kiki struggled with that every day, always thinking that she was living in Two-Bit's shadow. Steam might as well have been blowing out of Kiki's now bright red ears and she did something I never would have expected.

Kiki threw out her fist and punched Kris in the face. Her face snapped back and her eyes flared dangerously. "Oh my God," I breathed.

Collective gasps sounded all around me and I anxiously awaited Kris's backlash. It wasn't pretty. She sent a hurtling fist right back and she had far better technique, so it did more damage. Kiki went stumbling back into the bushes, blood dripping from her now busted lip.

"You punch me, I punch back," Kris hissed. Her eyes were like fiery green daggers.

We all jumped into action then. I stepped protectively in front of Kiki and Pony and Johnny grabbed Kris's arms and held them awkwardly behind her back. Two-Bit kneeled in front of Kiki. "Kiki, are you all right?" He dabbed tentatively at her lips but she batted his hand away.

"I'm all right," Kiki muttered. Her expression was stony as she pushed herself up and she tried to charge at Kris again, but I caught her before she could take another step.

"Girls, would you just calm down? You both are being ridiculous," Johnny said, in his ever so quiet way. We stared at him in shock. Not only did he hardly ever talk, but I didn't think I'd ever heard him scold _anybody_ before. It was a strange, out-of-body experience.

"She started it," Kiki spat out. I let go of her and the boys let go of Kris. My head was pounding and I was seriously considering just ditching the two and going home. Darry was going to be livid over today's events but it would be better than listening to these too bicker.

"How the _fuck_ did I start it?" Kris shouted at her and Ponyboy clamped a warning hand down on her shoulder. "What have you been smoking?!"

"The truth!" Kiki yelled back and I fought the oh so tempting urge to groan. That was cheesy as hell, but hey, that was Kiki for ya.

That was it. That was _it_. "Okay, I'm done. I'm going home, you guys call follow or stand here and yell at each other. I honestly, honestly don't care," I sighed, turning on my heel to begin the trek toward my house.

"Wait up!" Johnny ran and ran towards my side. He placed his hand gently on my back and guided me towards the direction of my house. Ponyboy and Two-Bit followed suit and finally the two girls decided to end their bickering and join us.

 **Kiki's Perspective**

It was _tense_ in the Curtises' living room. Echo had dozed off a few minutes prior. After we all got back, we sat down, I cleaned up my swollen lip, and Two-Bit grabbed a beer and turned on Mickey. We just sat in silence, exchanging glares and the like.

"Darry and all them should be getting home soon. What are we gonna tell them about today's events?" I asked, earning the unwavering gaze of everyone.

"I vote we don't tell him one word. Last thing we need is him on our case. All he will do is stress her out," Two-Bit said, pointing to the resting Echo. He had a point there.

"I don't know about that," Ponyboy replied a little squeamishly. "He's still our guardian and lies don't stay hidden forever. He'd be more mad if we hid it from him and he found out later."

"Who says he'll find out?" Kristina pointed out but I quickly shut her down.

"You breaking a Soc's wrist will go around town _real_ fast," I warned her and she slightly rolled her eyes. "Trust me, he'll hear about it. Dally will most likely hear about it first because he's the most connected and then he'll tell Darry."

"So, you propose we tell him and watch him freak out?" Kristina asked dryly.

"Either way he will find out. Better tell him now then have him be extra pissed that we lied about it," I purposed.

Before she could retort the familiar sound of Darry's truck came within earshot. His truck, holding Soda and Steve in the front as well, rolled into the driveway and they started pilling out of the car.

"What are we gonna do?" Pony asked, urgency straining his voice.

"For now, keep your traps shut," Two-Bit said a little too loudly, taking a swig of his beer. Echo stirred at the sound and all eyes fell on her. Much to our dismay, her neck had begun forming purple bruises. _Aw crap_.

Pony shot out of his seat and went to move her into her room but before he could, Darry along with Soda and Steve walked in. All Pony could do was sit right in front of her head so she was out of view.

Darry dropped his tool belt with a familiar clank and he eyed us all weirdly, then zeroed Ponyboy. "Pony, why are you sitting on your little sister's head?"

Steve and Soda snickered as Pony frantically scooted forward. "I ain't sittin' on her head!"

Great, Darry was already suspicious and he only just arrived. That was just so . . . Darry. "Pony, why don't you go sit down on the other end of the couch? You don't have to sit right next to her head."

Pony didn't budge and luckily, that was when Dally waltzed in. Actually, scratch that. This was _not_ a good thing. Why would it be a good thing? He was Dally goddamn Winston and he knew _everything_ that happened on this side of the town before everyone else, except maybe Tim Shepard.

But he glanced over at Kris and didn't say anything, so maybe the news didn't spread yet. "Oh, hey Dall," Johnny greeted and Dally lifted up the corners of his lips into a half-smile.

"Hey, Johnnycakes." He sat himself down on the couch near Ponyboy. "Gee, Pony, you don't gotta sit on her."

Flustered and red-faced, he argued, "I ain't sittin' on her."

"I'm watchin' Mickey over here!" Two-Bit barked at all of us. Only he could watch television at a time like this.

Slowly Echo began to stir and before she could sit up Pony pushed her back down. "Hey!" she squealed.

Darry called over from the kitchen, "Pony, get off her, it's Echo's turn to cook dinner."

 _Oh double crap. Darry, damn your logic._ I bolted from my seat and raced into the kitchen, standing at the ready. "Hey, Dar, I can cook."

He just stared at me, surprised. "Kiki, you don't need to do that, it's Echo's night to cook."

"I know that, but I think she's pretty tired from giving Kris a tour all day and I could cook instead." Darry peered around me even more suspiciously than before and Ponyboy shifted to shield a now sitting Echo. The dark blotches on her neck were revealed for display and Darry was just beginning to narrow his eyes to focus in . . .

Two-Bit was a lot of things, but subtle and thoughtful was most certainly not one of them. He went rogue, came up with a plan of his own. If he had just went along with mine . . . but _no_.

My idiot brother scooped up a protesting Echo in a bridal hold and made a mad dash for her bedroom while he thought Darry wasn't looking. There was a tiny little problem with that. Darry _was_ watching.

"Hey, Two-Bit, what the hell are you doing?" And Two-Bit _almost_ got her to her room.

"Uh . . . taking Echo to bed. She was sleepy," she said hesitantly. He still was facing the back hall but he stood frozen.

"I'm awake, dumbass, let me down!" Echo squirmed in his grip.

"What the hell is going on?" Dally drawled, looking to Kris for answers, who was now sitting on the floor. She just half-heartedly slapped him on the knee for silence and he smacked her on the back of her head.

"Yeah, that's what I want to know, too!" Darry said with his voice raised. Steve and Soda, interested, found their ways back into the living room. Two-Bit sheepishly set Echo down on her feet and she elbowed him in the gut.

"Guys, there is no use in hiding her. Just tell them," Johnny sighed in his usual timid way.

However rude it may have been I bit back, "Now is when you choose to talk, really?"

Two-Bit walked over to me and gave me a little shove to the point where I nearly lost my balance. "Hey, kid, don't talk to Johnny like that." I rubbed at my abused shoulder where he pushed me.

"Guys, what's goin' on?" Soda asked, fierce curiosity burning in his bright brown eyes. "Did somethin' bad happen? Why're y'all tryin' to hide Echo? Did little Echo do somethin' bad already, after last night?" He shot her a lopsided grin and she scowled at him from across the room.

"Somethin' bad did happen," I said a little cryptically. Darry set his hard gaze on me.

"What happened?" I cowered under his no-nonsense look and struggled to find the proper answers.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Kris shouted, jumping to her feet. "Some Socs came and nearly killed your little sister, you happy?"


	10. Bad to the Bone (or so They Say)

**A/N: How are you, fantastic readers of the world? Did you have a good holiday? Sound off in the comments, tell us about it! We both had a decent time, though holidays aren't completely our favorite time of year. Having breaks from school is always good, though XD. Anyway, thanks soooo much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! You guys are awesome and your reviews really spur us to keep writing, so keep on doing that :D! This chapter is in Kris's perspective and contains some much-needed Dally and Kris bonding, so yay! We really hope you'll like this chapter, and please read, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **Warning: There's some profanity 'cause an angry Kris is a swearing Kris XD.**

 **P.S. Happy New Year** **everyone!**

 **Chapter 10: Bad to the Bone (or so They Say)**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

This conversation was going in circles! So, yeah, I advanced it a little. Maybe a little _too_ much, and a bit too bluntly, but with how the confrontation was going, the secrets probably wouldn't have been divulged in the next twenty-four hours.

The moment I said that all eyes landed on me and then to Echo. She creased her eyebrows together, bewildered. "What? It wasn't a big deal. Look at me, I am fine," she said, completely oblivious to the marks on her neck. A couple of us giggled at her ignorance but Darry's glare shut us up real fast.

"It wasn't a big deal?" Darry yelled, taking two long and purposeful strides to stand next to her. He roughly lifted up her chin, causing her to flinch in pain. His eyes stretched wide as he noticed the thick bruises.

I pointed to my neck when Echo looked at me curiously and she ran to look into the bathroom mirror. "Oh, didn't notice that. Things make sense now."

Soda and Darry looked right horrified! "Echo," Soda cried, hurrying over to her and kneeling down to take a good look at her neck. "Jesus Christ, did they choke you?" She just shrugged.

Now it was Darry's turn to shine. "What the hell, Echo?! This is serious, you could have been _killed_. Are you _okay?_ Were you strangled? Did those bastards try to strangle you?" After firing off question after question, a realization came to him and he turned on Pony. "Did you know about this? You did, didn't you? And you were gonna hide it from me?"

As Pony stammered out a protest, I felt a hand yank at the hem of my shirt and I glanced over to see Dally trying to get my attention. "What?"

"What'd the Socs look like?" Danger glinted steel in his eyes. He was prepared to hunt those sons of bitches down. "Krissy, did they attack you too?"

There he went with the "Krissy" again. Damn him. "First off, it ain't Krissy to you, and second, relax. I took care of it." He tilted his head to the side, skeptical.

Apparently that curly-haired kid (Samuel? Steve, was it? Oh, I _really_ didn't care) had been listening in on our little side conversation, and had to open up his big, fat, useless mouth. "What do ya mean you took _care_ of it? Did they attack you too?"

So, I had been planning to leave out the little tiny unimportant bit where I snapped the kid's wrist, but it was looking like that wasn't about to happen. _To hell with it all_.

Echo had clammed up so now Officer Darry stormed his way on over to me. "What do you know that you ain't telling us?"

This guy . . . I thought, _He should go to Police Academy, become one of those nifty detectives that hate me so much_. "Hey, man. don't target me. I saved your little sister from being murdered! Stop interrogating me when you should be _thanking_ me."

While everyone was arguing, Soda's hand moved over to Echo and looked at her neck. I had to admit the bruises looked really bad. They were purplish-brown and they spread all the way down from her chin to the base where her neck met her chest.

My attention was snapped back to Darry when I found he _still_ wasn't appeased. "How did you stop them from hurting her?"

This was getting _real_ old, _real_ fast. I decided to dish out the cold, hard truth and he could do whatever he wanted with it. "I snapped the bastard's wrist, okay? I broke his wrist and they let her go 'cause they knew I meant business."

Well, _that_ put a damper on our lively argument. Everyone stared at me in a whole new light- except the ones who already knew, they had already started judging a little while back. I could see the gears shifting in Darry's head.

"So, this is your first real day in town, and yesterday you fight and get drunk at Buck's party, and today you snap someone's wrist? How old are you, twelve? Thirteen? I don't think Echo needs to be around like that. She's a good kid and it needs to stay that way."

I could have killed someone. I mean it, I COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE. He, with his jello, mushy-ass brain just couldn't comprehend that _I saved his little sister's goddamn life!_ This was _too_ far. It was written all over his face. He thought I was a bad influence on his perfect, baby sister who was _alive_ because of ME.

"Darry, no, c'mon! It wasn't like that, she _saved_ me-" Echo tried to defend, but Darry wasn't having _any_ of that.

He turned around to point a rigid finger at her. "Echo, I just don't need you learnin' things like that from people like that."

People like that? So now I was just a _type?!_ He was all buddy-buddy with Dally, wasn't he? What was so different about me, that I was a girl?

I was flower-stomping, puppy-kicking furious.

I spat out between clenched teeth like the words were venom swirling and foaming around in my mouth, "Oh, so now you're _judging_ me? Huh? So what would you have preferred? That they'd squeezed the motherfuckin' life out of her? All right, good to know where your priorities are! Next time I'll just let them murder her, m'kay?" I looked around the now suffocatingly somber room and then focused back on Darry, who seemed about ready to slap the teeth out of my mouth. "Next time I'll just let them kill her, and bring you back the body with a fancy little bow and . . . and a _card!_ And you know what that glittery-ass card will say? IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

Before he could get his hands around my throat to presumably strangle _me_ (he didn't do that, but it was probably tempting), I turned swiftly on my heel and left the house, slamming the screen door behind me.

I was halfway around the block when I heard the screen door open and shut. Someone was following me. I assumed it would be Echo, because she was on my side, or maybe even Two-Bit. But . . . _no._

It was _Dally._ His blond hair gleamed white in the harsh sunlight, his light blue eyes like hard, unbreakable ice. That was another way we differed. His eyes were cold and icy, mine were sharp and fiery, and mine were green and his were blue.

I quickened my pace but he had longer legs than me so he easily caught up. "What do you want, Dallas? Want to kick me while I'm down? If that's the case then you can just leave me the hell alone." As soon as I started up a brisk jog, Dally grabbed me by my shoulder and spun me roughly around.

"What's the matter with you, kid? Yellin' at Darry like that? Y'know, he has a shit ton on his plate, takin' care of his little siblings and all." Was he scolding me? Seriously, was he giving me a _lecture_? Oh, this was _riiiiich_. Getting a lecture on behavior from Dally fucking Winston?

"Darry's got his head so far up his ass he's using it as a damn sunhat," I grumbled and I noticed Dally bite back a smirk. The image was pretty amusing. "I saved her life, Dal, I did. I dunno why he's so pissed at me when he should be on his knees, throwin' roses and money and shit at me."

He laughed dryly, without humor. "If I ever saw Darry do that then I'd die of shock."

"Whatever, man." I kicked the ground angrily and watched with satisfaction as swirls of dust floated around us both, embracing us with the musty scent. "I was just real surprised, that's all. I mean, yeah, I broke the bastard's wrist but he was plannin' on hurting us and probably raping us, maybe killing us. What was I supposed to do, just let them do that?" I was yelling again.

He shook his head before I even finished my rant. "No, kid, you did good. You did real good. Those damn Socs were gonna hurt you and coulda killed Echo. You did what you shoulda done." That was . . . actually kind of nice of him to say. It was a strange conflict raging inside of me. Part of me just wanted to hate Dally and have that be _it_ , but an arguably larger part wanted him to like me, to respect me, to be _proud_ of me.

A smile threatened to pry up my lips. "I-I . . . did the right thing? You think I did the right thing?" It was strange how much I actually cared what he thought, how much value I placed on his opinion. I desperately wanted to shake myself of that mindset but now wasn't the time.

Dally shrugged like he didn't care all that much. He probably didn't. "You might've crossed a line or two, breaking his wrist and all, but you know how it is. You and I, we're from Brooklyn. It's kill or be killed, y'know? Sometimes you just gotta do what you haveta."

Finally, _finally_ someone understood! It was kinda crappy that it was _Dally_ all of all people, but it made sense. However much I didn't want to admit it, in a way, Dally and I were similar. Our childhoods were the same, hometowns, lifestyles . . . we just _got_ each other. Or at least I thought we did, but then he left me.

The one thing I _really_ didn't want to do was drop my guard around him, display any ounce of vulnerability. But like the little bitch I was, I did _just that_. "Dal, you get it, I get it, why don't _they_ get it? It's _Darry's_ sister I saved, I mean, I figured he'd have a little more sympathy. I don't know, man. I just don't know." I glared off in the distance and tried to suppress the urge to cry.

He looked at me real hard, like he was really seeing me for the first time in seven years. And for the first time since I reunited with him last night, I felt like I was seeing a glimpse of the _real_ Dally, the Dally I knew. "Krissy, don't let 'em get to you. It don't matter what he thinks as long as you know that you did the right thing. You saved the kid's life and if they won't acknowledge that then that's their damn problem, not yours."

I just nodded in response, mulling over his words for a few moments. Maybe he was right, but it was still bothering me. "I didn't deserve that, Dally, I didn't. Nobody bothers to hear my side of the story, 'cause they just write me off as some no-good criminal and then that's just _it_." I cut myself off as my eyes burned with tears by biting my lip until I tasted blood.

Much to my sheer surprise, he thrust out an arm to snake around my shoulders, leading me into a slow walk. "That's just everyone, man. The world don't give a crap about people like us. But that's why the people like us got to band together, kid, 'cause we're all we got left in this shithole of a world." _What a motivational speaker._

Before I could stop myself, I found myself leaning my head against his shoulder as we walked along the sidewalk. He was steering me to Buck's place. Bemused, I queried, "Why're we going back here?"

He replied gruffly, "When I left earlier during your little tour, which I guess was a shitty idea since those asshole Socs showed up and almost killed Little Curtis, I ran into Buck and he decided not to give you a room 'cause the first night you were there you already got caught up in a fight."

 _Whoa, whoa, whoa. Excuse me?_ In a sudden movement, I separated myself from him and allowed the briefly quelled ire to bubble up again. "That's utter bullshit! I was only helping Two-Bit out! _Jesus Christ_ , why can't anyone see things for how they actually are?"

Dally wasn't arguing against me and that made it a lot harder to dump all my anger on him. "I know it's bullshit, Kris. But it's his place so I just moved your crap into my room for now. Just so he wouldn't chuck it."

 _Wow. He's actually being considerate_. . . . "Gee, Dal, um . . . thanks. That was . . . nice of you. . . ." We were almost to Buck's place now.

He snorted and cuffed me on the shoulder, pretty hard, to be honest. Mild pain shot through my arm, but I didn't care. "Sound so surprised."

I grinned at him, actually smiled, probably for the first time since I reunited with him. "Just didn't think . . . I don't know, you're real different, Dally. I mean, I know the last time I saw you, you were eleven and I was six, and now we're both older so of _course_ we're gonna be different, but . . ."

He didn't respond as we entered Buck's place. Ungentlemanly as always, he didn't open the door for me so it nearly slammed into my face. Now _that_ was classic Dally, maybe he didn't change _completely_.

"Hope you didn't break any of my shit," I warned him and he scoffed as we trekked over to the stairs.

"You know, kid, you swear too much. It don't sound good through a girl's mouth, 'specially one as young as you."

Just then, some drunk loser who stayed overnight on the living room couch called over, "Ain't she a little young for you to fool around with, Dally?"

Dally stormed by me, knocking me into the nearest wall, to unload on him, "Hey, you sicko, that's my fucking sister!"

"Yeah, so go fuck yourself!" I added cheerfully and Dally gave me a half-hearted glare. Feigning innocence, I shrugged and sang, "I only learn from the best, Dal!"

Giggling, I hurried up the stairs before he could take a swing at me. I found what was presumably his room and shouted down the hall, "Big brother, your room's a dump!" I stepped in without invitation. "Seriously, you could hide a body in here and nobody would notice. I wouldn't put that past you. . . ."

"Kid sister, a lot of it's your shit that I had to move in," he grumbled back.

When an unamused Dally joined me in his room, I teased, "Do you screw your girlfriend in this mess?" That was a wild guess that he even had a girlfriend and I so did _not_ want those awful, awful images burned into my head, but that was me, sacrificing my dignity just for the sake of a quip or joke.

This time he _did_ find it in himself to slap me upside the head sharply. _Ouch, dammit._ "I don't need to hear that comin' outta your mouth." I rubbed the back of my head ruefully.

His earlier comment then registered to me and I realized how much he was overexaggerating. "Hey, man, all I have is my guitar and my duffel bag, the rest of this graveyard is _yours_."

He threw himself backwards on his unmade bed, adjusted himself to be comfortable, and eyed me intently. "You still got that thing?"

Sitting on the edge of his bed, I smiled a ghost of a smile. "You gave it to me. Shoulda known it was because you were leaving. What can I say? I was a stupid little kid."

He didn't reply because there wasn't much to say to that; I didn't leave much in the realm of appropriate responses. I pulled up the guitar case and undid the clasps, opening it up to reveal a shoddy, worn-out guitar . . . but it was a guitar full of memories. Dally taught me how to play.

"Can't believe you kept this piece of crap," he mused, reaching over to gingerly lift it out of its case. He strummed at it lightly and was a little surprised to hear it in such good pitch and tune. "Guess ya learned how to tune this thing. I always did it for ya."

"I had to learn how to do a lot of things on my own." That was my attempt to force some guilt into him for how he abandoned me- sure, we were at least on civil speaking terms now, but that didn't make me any less furious with him.

I stared him dead in the eye but he had this unfathomable look; it was nearly impossible to tell what he was thinking. The only other person I knew who could build up impenetrable walls around their feelings as well as I could was him.

"Kept your pick," I said conversationally, prying open a pocket of the case to reveal the red and blue object. It was the favorite of all my picks.

He picked it up and examined it closely, the corners of his mouth lifting up into a bitter smile. "The old man gave this to me. Same with the guitar. Hardly did any damn thing right but he sure could play this thing."

I was dumbfounded. All this time, the pick came from my _father_ originally, not Dally? It had just never occurred to me where _Dally_ got the pick and guitar from. Or if it did, I just didn't want to believe it, but it made total sense. My dad was a whole lot of things and most of 'em bad, but he was a damn good musician and nobody could deny that.

"We used to sing together, Dal." I brought that up tentatively, hoping dearly that he remembered that. Those were memories I always looked upon with great fondness when I wanted to remember my brother. "Think you can sing for me?"

Dally clammed up, far less open than he had been a mere minute ago (and that wasn't saying much). "Things change, Kris." Then he rolled over and abruptly broke off eye contact.

That hurt me a little bit but I tried my best to ignore it. There wasn't anyway in the damn universe I could break through to him in one afternoon. I was just glad to be talking to him again after those seven long years.

Just when I thought he was asleep, I carefully leaned back onto the other half of the bed and whispered, "I missed you, Dally."

My eyelids were like cement. It had been a long day and I felt my consciousness slipping away. The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was, "Missed you too, Krissy."

I couldn't tell if I had imagined it or not, but I hoped to all the deities, genies, and shooting stars in the universe that I didn't.


	11. Well, I Didn't See That One Coming

**A/N: Hello, loyal readers of this story! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, it spurred us to post this installment sooner! Positive reinforcement is the best :). This chapter has a much-needed long talk between Darry and Echo, well, after a** ** _bit_** **of arguing. . . . Echo sure has a mouth on her. This end of this chapter also is changing the entire future of this story- meaning, we're introducing a new OC that's going to shake up everyone's lives, but no more than a certain beloved Sodapop Curtis. The twist is entirely unexpected and we hope you appreciate or at least come to accept this new change. Without much further ado, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **P.S. We hope everyone had a great New Year and here's to a fantastic 2016!**

 **Chapter 11: Well, I Didn't See That One Coming**

 **Echo's Perspective**

A pang of guilt hit me like a ton of bricks as Kristina stormed out of the house. She didn't deserve to be scrutinized, she deserved applause. She saved my life- sure, it was a bit extreme, but I could have died and Darry couldn't give a rat's ass.

Fury overwhelmed my system as I shouted, "Look what you've done! She saves me and this is how you repay her?" I took a long, hard look around the room and a took a deep breath before continuing, "And all you! Darry ain't the only one I'm mad at! You people sit there all high and mighty yet not a single one of you even tried to defend her."

Darry's face was red hot with anger, like someone set his face on fire with one of Dally's cancer sticks. Pointing his finger at me he growled, "You watch your tone with me, little lady, or you can forget about seein' the light of day for a long, long time. You're already on thin ice with me after last night and don't even _think_ we're done talkin' about that."

"You want me to watch my tone?" I said quietly, incredulously. "You expect me to watch my tone after you disrespect my new friend like that?"

"Echo, stop talkin' back right now, young lady," Darry threatened. But I didn't care no more. This summer was just turning into a summer from hell, wasn't it?

The group just observed our screaming match, too afraid to speak. My neck was throbbing and sore and I was so done with everyone around me. I couldn't take it anymore, I just had to run.

"I-I _hate_ this! All of this, I hate what's happening to us! If Mom and Dad were here, then _none_ of this would be even happening! They'd know how to fix everything!" I yelled while taking off towards my room and slamming the door as hard as I could. Tears filled my eyes to the brim yet again in this short, yet so dreadfully _long_ day.

The drama from last night and today was maddening and I was just done with it. I was still petrified from what the Socs did and _could_ have done, and watching that boy's wrist snap . . . It was just . . . horrible, all of it. Just horrible.

I sobbed into my hands, feeling more alone than ever.

 **A few hours later . . .**

Time passed like a dying snail and I just lay on my bed and stared dully at the ceiling. I didn't want to go out and face anyone but at the same time I couldn't find it in me to relax and rest.

After a long while, my door creaked open and in came the one person I could always count on, Sodapop. He came in and sat beside me on my bed, resting his hand on my shoulder.

"How are you doing, Echo?" he asked in his familiar honey-like voice. He could've been a brilliant doctor or nurse with that voice, I _swear_. Just listening to him would cure whatever ailments the patients had in record time.

"Not good, Soda, not good," I said simply, shifting onto my other side so I could directly face him. "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone went home, even Kiki. Darry went for a drive to cool his head so it's just you, me, and Pone."

"Do you know if Kris is all right?" I asked, moving so I could lean against his chest and relax. He lightly rubbed my back and positioned himself so he could lean his chin on the top of my head.

"Sure she is. She is with her brother and she seems to be a lot tougher than most girls around her age," Soda reassured.

"I guess you're probably right, Soda, but the way Darry treated her was bad. Real bad. She saved my life and he had the nerve to call her a bad influence." Gosh, it disgusted me even thinking about it.

He was shifty-eyed. "I hate to say it, baby, but he isn't completely wrong."

My jaw dropped to the floor and I abruptly jumped off the bed to get away from his ridiculous ass. "Not you too, Soda!"

He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Wait, wait, wait! I'm just saying she ain't like you and Kiki. She's lived a very different life if she grew up like Dal, and from the looks of her it would seem she did grow up like him or even _worse_. I just think you need to keep your head on straight when you're around her."

Why did life have to be so damn _unfair_? So just because she may have had a lousy childhood gave us the excuse to throw prejudice her way? _Bullshit_. "No, I don't, Soda, you don't know what you're talking about!" I was damn near shouting now. "She ain't like that! The only thing she did was _protect_ me, that's it, and Darry doesn't see that! He's so fucking self-righteous, but when it comes down to it, he'd be perfectly happy if that Soc just snapped my neck, so long as Kris isn't a _bad influence_ on me."

By then, Pony was lurking in my doorway and listening in on our conversation. I couldn't tell if he agreed with me or not, but he probably didn't agree with Darry 'cause he never did.

Soda was one easygoing guy and he let most things slide past. This was not one of those times. He got to his feet and pointed his index finger right in my face, his expression one of the sternest I'd ever seen on him. "Echo, I never want to hear you say that again. That's uncalled for and just plain cruel. You know how much Darry loves you and how much he tries his hardest to take care of us! So it's _you_ who ain't being fair to _him_ , Echo, and I think you should knock it off right now."

I. Was. Dumbfounded. The times in my life Soda genuinely gave me a lecture were so rare I could count them on one hand. "Gee, Soda, I didn't know it bothered you so much. I'm sorry."

Soda could never stay mad at me. He ruffled my hair and pulled me into him. "It's all right, Echo. Just don't say that again. I saved you some dinner, y'know. Darry wanted to make you cook but you didn't seem up to it so I offered."

My heart sank- Soda sacrificed so much for Pony and I. "Aw, Soda, ya didn't need to do that. Thanks." He only shrugged.

"Better than you woulda made," Pony remarked and I bumped him on the way out the door. He wasn't wrong.

The delicious smell of spaghetti wafted into my nostrils. "Yay, you made spaghetti!" He had a plate left out for me and, twirling a group noodles around my fork, I shoved it into my mouth.

"Y'know, Darry ain't happy," Ponyboy found it in himself to inform me. I just glared at him because I couldn't reply with my mouth full of spaghetti.

Soda nudged him on the shoulder. "Aw, c'mon, Pone, she knows that. You don't gotta tell her again."

Swallowing with a loud gulp, I muttered, "Well, I ain't too happy with Darry either so he can join the damn club."

A grimace contorting his face, Soda pleaded, "Can't you two get along with him? It seems like every other day one of you is hollerin' at him for something."

I protested, "It's he that hollers at us!" the same time Pony snapped, "I've been gettin' along right fine with him the last week or so, it's Echo that's causing all the trouble, not me."

Shame burned my cheeks a vibrant red and I, with much less enthusiasm, jammed more noodles into my mouth. There wasn't a good response for that because he was right and we all knew it.

That night, Darry and I avoided each other like the plague but for different reasons. If I was being honest, I was a little scared of him right then, just waiting for him to blow up at me. I was fairly certain the reason he was avoiding _me_ , though, was that he could hardly stand to look at me.

After Soda and Pony gravitated into their bedroom, I timidly exited mine to find Darry sitting in his arm chair with his head in his hands. Guilt panged me. I was really stressing him out, wasn't I? "Hey, Dar."

He looked up, his expression even and guarded. "What do you want now?"

I fought the urge to flinch away, instead sitting carefully down on our sofa. "I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry." Ouch, that sounded bland even to me.

His eyebrow tweaked up and he dryly said, "Wow, your enthusiasm is through the roof."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Darry!" It almost came out as a yell so I struggled to lower my voice. "Look, can we just talk about this like adults?"

His lips curved up into a smirk and he sat back, crossing his arms. "Proceed, if you insist, ma'am."

Anger burned inside of my gut (he was mocking me!) but I stifled it. "Okay, here goes. I don't like the way you treated Kris."

Sighing, he raked his fingers through his nearly black hair and said as though he had said it a thousand times before and he was absolutely sick of it, "It's my job to keep you safe, even if you don't like it."

I saw an opening and I took it. "But, don't you see? That's exactly what Kris did! She kept me safe. So, Dar, that means she's on _your_ side but you acted like she was the enemy."

I'll give him credit, he did take a moment to ponder over that. "I understand that, Echo-"

"I don't think you do." Out of the blue, pesky tears built up in my eyes but I continued anyway, "Darry, this is what it feels like to me. I feel like it didn't matter to you if I was killed so long as Kris wasn't a bad influence on me, and t-that," I tried to compose myself as the first of my tears fell, "hurt me. I felt so small and so unimportant when you acted like that."

This was obviously the first time this thought entered his head by the realization dawning on his face, but I pressed on, "I just feel like you don't care about _me_ , you care about the Curtis reputation or something. And I'm sorry, Darry, I'm _really, really_ sorry that I went to that stupid, godforsaken party and I'm sorry I disobeyed you by doing that and I'm sorry I got hurt today and then yelled at you and I'm sorry that those Socs didn't kill me, because then I'd be out of your hair-"

That got to him. He jumped to his feet and looked about as angry as I ever saw him, but sad, too. Real sad. "Echo, what the hell is going through that thick skull of yours? In what universe do you think I want you to die? Are you _kidding_ me? I gave up everything for you and your brothers! So don't you dare say that I don't care about you or that I don't want you around, because I do. Sure, you and Pony make it hard when you fight me on everything, but you three are my _world_." The rims of his eyes were red, almost like he was about ready to cry too, but he didn't because he was Darry and Darry never cried.

Darry continued on his warpath, "The reason I was so mad earlier wasn't because you gave me attitude, or because Kris blew up. I don't blame her for that, I wasn't thinking straight. No, I was so, so angry because those bastard Socs could have ended your _life_." He clenched up his fists so tight I was surprised blood wasn't pooling beneath his fingernails. "Those sons of bitches . . . Those fucking cowards attacked two young girls and they nearly killed you. Echo, _they nearly killed my baby sister!_ I'm so thankful that Kris saved your life, I am, but I wish I was there to protect you. I should have been there. . . . God, if I was there, I would have ripped their heads from their necks!"

I jumped to my feet, too, and rubbed his forearm soothingly in hopes of calming him down. "Darry, you can't be there with me all the time. I don't blame you _at all!_ I don't even know how you came up with that! You already do so much, you can't be at two places at once. . . . You don't have worry about me all the time."

Darry pinched the bridge of his nose- a habit he picked up from Dad when he was stressed. "I know I can't always be there to protect you, I just wish I could. I ain't _ever_ letting something like this happen again. _Ever_. I don't care if I have to hire Dally or Tim or whoever to guard you wherever you leave the house. This ain't ever happening again. And you have to understand that I will _always_ worry, because I'm your guardian and I'm your older brother. That's just the way it is. I just wish you'd see that more often, I'm really trying to do what's best for you. I ain't Mom and Dad, Echo, but I'm trying. I'm really trying."

Darry wasn't crying, but I sure was, like a baby. "Oh God, Darry, I-I _know_ you are! You're tryin' s-so hard and you're doin' a real good j-job! I'm s-s-sorry. I know how much you gave up for us and I appreciate that so much. You gave up your world for us and I think the world of you. I'm sorry that I always make you feel like I don't. God, what's wrong with me? I'm such a horrible person and I just deserve to die!"

Darry abruptly sat down with me and pulled me into his chest tightly. Like, suffocatingly tight. He really didn't know his own strength. "Echo, I never want to hear you say that again. Didn't you hear anything I was saying? My whole point is that I couldn't live without you or your brothers! There's no damn way you deserve to die! You're a good kid. Sure, you make mistakes but so do the rest of us. That doesn't make you a bad person. You're my baby sister and I love you, and if you died, then it would _kill_ me."

I sobbed into his chest, the salt water pooling on and effectively ruining his shirt. I felt so _safe_ , though, in his arms. He was my rock, but most of all, he was my _world_. "I-I love y-you, Darry, s-so much. You're the best guardian ever and I promise to stop being s-such a brat."

He chuckled, his chest shaking with the deep-sounding vibrations. "Echo, I know you like the back of my hand and that just ain't in your nature. At least after Mom and Dad died. But I know you'll try 'cause I need you to. I need you to work with me. Because you know that everything I do is to provide the best possible life for you."

"I know and I'm sorry," I whispered, clutching onto him for dear life.

"I know you are, baby, I know you are."

Apparently crying my soul out was exhausting, because my eyelids refused to stay open. I vaguely felt myself being lifted, and I listened to the comforting sound of Darry's steady heartbeat.

As he lay me in my bed and draped my covers over my half-asleep self, I mumbled, "I love you, Darry."

The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was him kissing the top of my head and murmuring, "I love you too, baby."

 **The very next morning . . .**

I awoke to the bright sunshine pouring through my window, yesterday's events hitting me like a wrecking ball. "What a long day," I said to myself.

My stomach rumbled so I reluctantly crawled out from my soft bed and stumbled out of my room. Nobody was in the living room as I crept into the kitchen to serve myself some chocolate cake. I found a note on the kitchen table that said,

 _Echo,_

 _I had to leave early to go to work, so did Soda. Pony should be in his room to watch over you and if he isn't, then he should be because I told him last night to stay at least until you woke up. Soda's shift ends around the same time as mine so we'll be home roughly at five._

 _-Darry_

I smiled. Darry got into the habit of leaving notes when I threw a stink that if something happened to any of my brothers I wouldn't know where they were. He had developed a pretty diligent habit of it and tried to get all of us to do it too, but we were all lazier than him and typically forgot.

The clock in the living room said it was about nine o'clock so I wandered over to Pony and Soda's room to ask if he wanted breakfast only to discover he wasn't there. My heart quickening with panic, my nerves were soothed as I found the hastily scribbled note from his sketchbook sitting on his bed. It said,

 _I went out to the movie house with Johnny. Don't know when I'll be back._

Shaking my head fondly, I crumpled up the note and threw it in their trash bin. At least he had the decency to tell me where he was, but that was always Pony's full extent. He was the laziest of us all.

I rather enjoyed the peace of the house as I munched on my slice of chocolate cake and chugged down my glass of milk. Silence . . . serenity.

Until, AS USUAL, everything went to crap.

There was this strange noise, like a high-pitched keening or wailing. I tilted my head to hear better and the noise only grew louder and shriller. "What the hell is that?" I wondered aloud.

We didn't have a dog, none of our next-door neighbors did either, but it didn't even sound like a dog. It didn't even sound like an _animal_. I was utterly bewildered.

I searched the house to find the source of the noise and found it was loudest by the front of the house. _Uh oh._ Tentatively, I opened up the always unlocked front door, then the screen door, and my heart galloped and skipped a beat. "Holy fucking shit," I gasped.

It was a . . . _baby_. There was a tiny baby resting on the porch in a bundle of yellow blankets shrieking its little head off. "Did somebody lose a baby?" I yelled out the door but my voice was suddenly very hoarse.

Kneeling to the ground, I hesitantly fidgeted with what looked like a box of supplies, then the baby's blanket and nearly jumped a foot in the air as an envelope fell out. My hands shaking and buzzing furiously, I reached over and gingerly picked up the letter, flipping it over . . .

If my heart skipped a beat before, then it just _stopped_. I could have been stone-cold dead and I wouldn't've noticed with how terribly stunned I was.

The back of the envelope read:

 _To Soda, from Sandy - the baby's yours._

 **A/N: Well, what'd you think? Did you enjoy it? How do you think this new character is going affect the characters? Sound off in the reviews!**


	12. Abandonment Day

**A/N: HelloooooOOOOOOOooooooooo! First off, the last round of reviews was the highest we've ever received on this site so THANK YOU! You lovely people, those who read, follow, favorite, and take the time to thoughtfully review this story . . . you're awesome. Picture this. Let's use the "Supernatural" version, with Dean Winchester pointing at you while proclaiming, "You're awesome." Yeah,** ** _that's_** **how awesome you guys are. Anyway, how'd you like the last chapter? We told you there'd be a twist ;). Bet you guys didn't expect that, huh? Yeah, baby Curtis is going to** ** _really_** **shake up everyone's lives and Soda and Darry don't even** ** _know_** **yet. That should be interesting ;D.**

 **This chapter is in Kristina's perspective, and has some more Curly in it. He will be playing a larger part now. This chapter also explains in depth Sandy's decision to seemingly abandon her child. Why'd she do it? You might find that it isn't as black and white as it seems, because one teenage girl can't be** ** _all_** **bad. Can she?**

 **So, without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 12: Abandonment Day**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

A lousy rooster woke me up. A _rooster_. Like the ones in the freaking cartoons my little kid self used to adore and loyally watch every Saturday morning. "Who in the holy hell has a rooster?" I mumbled into my pillow. "Whoever it is, I'mma find 'em, and I'mma kill 'em."

Chuckling, Dally reached behind him to rudely shove me off the bed. "Good, you take up too much room anyway."

Groaning as I hit the ground, I bit back, "Well, maybe if you weren't such a greedy asshole and a gentleman instead, you woulda let me have the _entire_ bed."

"Screw that," he said in response and I rolled my eyes. _Classic Dally._

I grabbed my bag, sending one last glower Dally's way, and slithered into the nearest bathroom, still half-dead to the world. Upon seeing myself in the mirror, I grumbled, "I look like an extraterrestrial." My tangles of curly hair were an alien in itself.

I hopped into the shower and sighed in relief as the steaming hot water shared a happy reunion with the tense muscles in my shoulders. There was bottle of shampoo there and a bar of soap, so I helped myself. I knew Dally would throw a hissy fit if I used all the hot water, though, so I ended the shower almost as soon as I started it and dried myself with someone's stray towel.

Sure, Echo was nice to give me her clothes but they just weren't _me_ , so I changed into something more comfortable. I pulled on a tight pair of blue jeans (they were old and I needed new ones), a worn-out T-shirt, and my favorite leather jacket along with a pair of ratty Converse. And using yesterday as a reminder, I made sure to put my trusty switchblade in the back pocket of my jeans.

Shifting around through my possessions for a hairband and brush, I took about ten goddamn minutes to sort out the now wet rat's nest I had to call hair, then fixed it into a decent French braid. Yeah, I was a tomboy but I still knew how to braid hair, sue me.

My last call of duty was to scrub off all the smeared makeup on my face. I didn't really feel like exerting the effort to put more on, but I sucked it up and applied some black mascara and eyeliner. Looking into the mirror to debate whether I should put any more makeup on, I shrugged. _Good enough for me_.

Dally pounded on the bathroom door. "Kris, hurry your ass up, some of us don't have all day." Huffing, I gathered my things into my duffel bag and squeezed out as Dally forced his way in. The last thing I heard him say was, "Did you use my fucking towel?" before I tossed my bag into his room and made my way downstairs with Echo's clothes (I intended to give them back.)

There was only one person there . . . Curly Shepard. Upon seeing me, his whole face lit up and he scooted off his bar stool, shoving his beer to the side. "Drinking so early in the morning?" I then noticed his right eye was considerably darkened and swollen. "Rough night?"

Curly only shrugged. "Step dad's a dick." He didn't elaborate but he didn't need to. I knew all about abusive dads.

"Know what you mean," I said sympathetically, grabbing his beer to take a swig of it. Man, did I hate beer. I always realized right _after_ I drank it how disgusting I found it.

He flashed me a teasing, crooked smile. "Well, it ain't the only reason I showed up here."

It took me a few seconds to realize what the hell he was talking about, then a light blush crept to my cheeks. "Aw, Mr. Shepard, I ain't deserving of such an honor!"

He tilted back his head and laughed. "Well, Miss Winston, I haveta disagree with ya there. You've earned yourself some Shepherd love." I laughed along with him then countered,

"Well, that's great," I said with feigned exuberance, "do you know where I can find Tim?" He playfully smacked me on the arm and I giggled.

"Don't tease me like that," he chortled.

I decided to up my level of flirting now. "Aw, Curly, you ain't got nothing to worry about. You're _much_ cuter than your brother." I left out the fact that they looked nearly identical. At least Curly didn't have the jagged scar and crooked nose. Curly actually was a pretty boy, I wasn't lying about that.

Curly looked genuinely surprised by my comment and it occurred to me that maybe lots of people favored Tim over him. Maybe he was used to living in Tim's shadow and didn't garner the same amount of attention. "Well, Kris, I can say the same thing about you!"

I grinned back at him. Dally had interesting features. From some angles, he looked like a fugly elf, but from others he was downright handsome. So, I took his returned compliment pretty well. "You're too kind."

"I ain't lying!" he said sincerely, his joking smile fading away. "When I saw you at the Dingo, I thought you were the prettiest greaser girl I had ever laid eyes on."

I just blinked at him. What was I supposed to say to that? Back in Brooklyn, I was known for my tough-as-nails approach to life, my fighting skills, and my general badassery. Nobody ever commented on my looks because, quite honestly, most were too scared of me. "Wow, Curly, that's actually . . . real nice of you to say. T-thank you."

He shrugged again, smiling almost _shyly_. "Well, it's the truth, so . . . yeah."

I felt the beginnings of a crush on Curly begin to blossom. "Y'know, we only met twice, but both times were pretty damn memorable because, well, we're just pretty damn cool." He snickered and nodded. "Look at me, I'm a poet," I chirped, pretending to be all proud of myself.

Suddenly seeming a little self-conscious, Curly murmured, "You know, I've met lots of girls in my time. Lots of 'em."

I deadpanned, "I don't think I like where this is going."

Grinning, he held up a finger and his dark, intense eyes met my green ones. "Lemme finish. You ain't like any of those girls. They're all the same, and they just come and go. You're real funny, and you don't take shit from people. You ain't fake like most of 'em, you're _real_ , and you're as tough as they come- hell, I overheard last night that you broke a Soc's wrist? On your first day? Is that true?"

"Hell yeah." I probably shouldn't have been so enthusiastic about it but his attempts to inflate my ego were working. "They were tryin' to kill the Curtis girl so I broke his wrist and they ran off."

"That's my girl," he encouraged and then realized with a start what he said. Before he could stammer out an apology, I smirked and pressed my finger to his mouth.

"Don't go takin' that back so soon," I said, biting my lip a little seductively.

Heartened with newfound confidence, he asked me, "Kris, do you wanna go out with me tonight? Maybe go bowling or shoot some pool?"

I didn't even need to think. "Again, I say: hell yeah. I'll meet you here at Buck's at six, all right? And then we'll decide. That cool with you?"

Smiling as wide as his face would stretch, he used my own words against me and cheered, "Well, hell yeah!"

We laughed together and that's when I heard Dally coming down the stairs. Deciding it would be better for the both of us to end this before he caught on to us, I whispered, "See you tonight at six, all right? If Dally finds out what's happening he'll kill you dead and I ain't planning on dating a dead boy. Necrophilia ain't my thing."

Nodding in understanding and chuckling at the same time, he took his beer and hightailed it out of there, winking at me on the way out. I jumped as Dally lay his hand on my shoulder. "Now, what was that about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

He slammed his palm down on the bar counter. "The hell you don't. Don't pull that shit on me. I ain't an idiot. What's goin' on between you and mini-Shepard?"

"We're star-crossed lovers," I snarked, but Dally remained unamused.

"There's no fuckin' way I'm letting that happen," he assured me and I narrowed my eyes. "He's fifteen, Kris. He's way too old for you and he's a goddamn Shepard to boot."

"So?" I challenged, knowing it would piss him off. "I'm a goddamn _Winston_. Same difference." With that, I strolled away from him and out Buck's door, but Dally was on my tail.

"This ain't over, kid. This is far from over."

"Suit yourself, Dal!" I sang cheerfully. His icy eyes flared up with anger but I didn't give two craps. "Darry's probably at work by now. Want to stop by the Curtis place? I wanna see how Echo's doin'."

He only grunted, but I took that as a yes because he followed me anyway. After a ways of walking where he stewed in silence, we turned the corner to run smack into Two-Bit and Kiki Mathews. "Hey, y'all, long time no see!" Two-Bit greeted all friendly-like, and that's when I knew he didn't hold the whole wrist incident against me. I really hoped he wouldn't.

"Why ain't you driving?" Dally demanded.

"My car decided to be a little bitch this morning," he replied good-naturedly. "I'll try 'er again later. Or get Soda and Steve to fix her up."

Kiki didn't look too happy to see me and the feeling was mutual. "You heading to the Curtis place?" she asked suspiciously. "Is that such a good idea?"

 _Of. Course._ "Oh _here_ we go again," I groaned. "Darry's probably at work or something and I just wanted to see if Echo's all right and give her her clothes back. Is that such a crime? You would know, you're obviously a police officer in the making. And they _loooove_ me."

Two-Bit cleverly stepped between us, shouldering us apart. "Let's just all get along now, m'kay?"

I chomped down on my tongue to refrain from starting another argument and Kiki obviously had the same idea. The four of us walked in silence (and that was really saying something considering Two-Bit and I were together) down to the Curtis house and an ominous feeling immediately crawled up my spine. Something was wrong.

"Something ain't right," Kiki echoed my thoughts. Just then, proving the both of us correct, a piercing scream sounded from inside the house.

The four of us shared a quick glance before tearing across the dead lawn, everyone but Kiki pulling our weapons out. Dally, who was the fastest of us, kicked open the screen door and held up his knife. "What's going on . . . What. The. Fuck?! What's that thing?!"

Two-Bit, Kiki, and I barged in right after him and I choked on my own saliva. There was Echo, and she seemed fine enough, not being brutally murdered like we originally thought, but she was holding . . . a thing. A squirming, shrieking, crying _thing_.

"Dammit, guys, she was finally shutting up!" Echo growled, her eyes sending us death glares. She began rocking the child and attempted to sooth it, but it wasn't working.

"What the hell, Echo? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure you can't make and give birth to a baby in the same night," I pointed out, putting away my weapon into my back pocket and dumping Echo's clothes onto their couch. It just didn't seem right to have a knife out with a baby that close to such a deadly weapon.

"It's not mine," she stated harshly. Well, that much was obvious.

"Well, you're the only one livin' in this house who has the parts to give birth to one," Two-Bit so helpfully brought up. Kiki, her nose scrunched up in disgust, punched him in the gut but he barely flinched because she packed one wimpy punch.

"Would you people shut up for a second?!" she yelled before swiftly turning away from us to rock the whimpering child again. Without any notice, she walked over to us and pushed Dally aside (he was too shocked to care) before handing the child to Kiki and saying, "Hold this."

"Did that just come in the mail?" Two-Bit asked incredulously and I peeked over Kiki's shoulder to take a good look at the baby. She was undeniably adorable, even with her face all squished and red from crying so much. The baby also looked strangely familiar . . . she reminded me of someone. But who?

Ignoring him, Echo walked to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of presumably baby formula. Grabbing Two-Bit's wrist, she squirted a little drop on his skin.

"Ew, nasty. What was that for?" he asked, slightly grossed out. He wiped the little drop with his sleeve while looking indignantly at Echo.

"It didn't burn you so I can give it to her," she said simply, taking the baby from Kiki and gently pushing the bottle in the thing's mouth. The baby sucked at the stuff like she was a nicotine addict smoking the first cancer stick in weeks.

"Okay, hold up. Echo, you better explain what's going on," Kiki reminded her sternly. She looked pained, like a rose's thorn was digging into her side. Guess little princess didn't like curve balls thrown at her head.

With an eye roll, Echo said, "Honestly, I wish I knew. I woke up this morning and this thing was on my doorstep crying her little heart out. She did, though, come with a bit of an explanation." With one hand, Echo grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to Kiki.

Dally was a lot of things, but sensitive and empathetic? Just . . . no. "Hey, I have an idea, let's cut the bullshit. Who left the thing?"

I stomped on his foot and he kicked me back. Pain shot through my shin, but I put on a brave face and chastened, "Hey, man, don't swear around the fucking baby." Echo slapped her forehead with her palm and Two-Bit snickered.

Looking over at Kiki, I watched her face shadow over with a ranging plethora of emotions as she read it. "Oh my God . . . _oh my God_."

"Hey, I wanna see!" I complained and she feebly handed it me once she was done, Dally and Two-Bit reading over my shoulder. The letter read:

 _Dear Soda,_

 _When I told you this baby wasn't yours, it wasn't completely a lie. I didn't know. I didn't know until the baby was born, and then I knew she was yours._

 _You might be wondering how I could possibly know. Firstly, the other man I was with is a black man. Secondly, the second I laid eyes on that baby I could tell she was a spitting image of you. I still remember that time you showed me all the pictures on your living room wall, and there was a baby picture of you. With that in mind, this baby is no doubt yours._

 _You're probably wondering by now why I'm not on your porch along with our daughter. I'm sorry, Soda, I'm so sorry, but I can't take care of her. My boyfriend won't take her, my family has rejected her because she's a bastard child, and I just can't take care of her. I know what you're probably thinking, because you're such a good, kind-hearted person. You could marry me and we could raise this child together._

 _I'm sorry to say that that isn't possible. You see, I never loved you the way you loved me. I wanted to, believe me, I so desperately wanted to but I just couldn't. That's why I know we couldn't be a proper family together and our daughter wouldn't have the stability she will need in life._

 _When it comes down to it, I'm seventeen years old and I'm not ready to raise a child. I can't do this. So, I'm so sorry, but I'm leaving her with you where I know she will be well-cared for and I'm not coming back. I know the kind of man you are and I know you will be a fantastic father to our daughter. I'm so dearly sorry that I can't be that little girl's mother but I know you are all she needs, and she has your brothers and sister as well to serve as the best uncles and aunt she could ever have._

 _I hope that somewhere in your beautiful heart that you will be able to forgive me for everything I've done, and that our daughter will know that her mother loves her. Please raise our daughter and give her the life I could never provide._

 _I'm so sorry, Soda._

 _-Sandy_

 _P.S. Her birth certificate needed a name, so I named her Melody Rose Curtis. I named her Melody because sometimes when she cries, it sounds like she's singing a little song. You'll see. I gave birth to her about three weeks ago, on May twenty-fifth. She's a healthy baby and I've included a supply box with information to tell you everything she'll need, along with some basic necessities like formula to start you off. That's all I have left to say. Good luck, Soda, I know you can do this._

 _Goodbye._

So, now I completely understood Kiki's reaction- her very, very appropriate reaction. "Oh my _God_ ," I murmured, handing the letter back to her once the guys were finished reading. "That's some heavy stuff right there."

"Holy shit," Two-Bit chanted, and for once there wasn't even a trace of a smile on his face. "Holy shit, guys, Soda's a _father_. _Our_ Soda."

Dally, unsurprisingly, chose to go down the angry route and this time, nobody could blame him. "So, that lying, cheating bitch is just gonna abandon her own kid with Soda after she treated him like shit? He's seventeen, man . . . he's only seventeen."

"I know and I wish she would have been here so I could have beat the crap out of that whore for what she did," Echo spat, and when the baby started crying again her expression softened and she cooed sweet nothings into her tiny ears.

"So her name is Melody?" Two-Bit drawled, taking a break to add, "That's too long, how about Mel? Or Mellie? Or the Melster?"

"Melster? Seriously?" I laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. Everyone seemed to be very somber, I mean, rightfully so, but still. "What's the story with this Sandy chick anyway? It's been established that she's a lying, cheating bitch and a whore and the letter backs that up."

Echo took it upon herself to thoroughly answer my question. "She was my brother's girlfriend and the love of his life. She broke his heart by sleeping with another guy and she said the baby wasn't his. I guess she was lying. And now, she outdid her horrible self by abandoning her own fucking daughter."

My eyebrows became one with my hairline. "Wow . . . talk about a bitch extraordinaire."

"That's an understatement," Dally muttered, taking out his switchblade to play with it. He used to do that when he was nervous or upset, I guess that habit never changed.

The door rattled open and presented Johnny and Pony. They were laughing and talking amicably, but froze as everyone turned to see them. The screen door shut behind them with a startling bang.

Ponyboy spotted the baby first. "Echo, what have you _done?_ "

"Why does everyone jump to me as a conclusion, I am still a vir . . ." Echo cut herself off, with good reason. I was trying not to laugh, as was Kiki, but Two-Bit and Dally and Ponyboy looked downright repulsed. Johnny's tan face, though hidden behind a fringe of greasy bangs, was considerably redder.

"Not something I need to hear," Dally groaned. As I was moving to sit on the ground, everyone followed and positioned themselves around the room as Echo filled in the two boys.

"It's obviously not my baby," Echo said to begin the lengthy but much needed explanation. "Um, I don't really know how to break this to you. So, I won't. Here, read this letter." She motioned for Kiki to hand the letter to the two boys and they read it, Johnny considerably slower than Ponyboy.

"What the _hell?!_ " Pony shouted, jumping to his feet like a fire was lit under the seat of his jeans. "Sandy . . . Soda . . . the baby . . . she lied . . . Soda's a _dad?!_ "

Johnny still wasn't done with the letter, but as he finished up, he carefully folded it back up and tapped it nervously against his knee. It was a shock for _me_ and I only just met Soda. It had to be earth-shattering for them.

"Shhh, the baby is sleeping," Echo scolded, resting the baby on her lap. Man, that was one cute baby. Her purple pajama-covered body wiggled occasionally as she dreamed about whatever tiny babies dreamed about. Hopefully not her bitch of a mother.

Ponyboy, now as pale as a sheet, plopped down next to her and hovered his hand over the baby. " _Soda's_ baby. This, um, this is his daughter. He . . . _made a human being_. How . . . how is that even possible?"

It was very, very obviously a rhetorical question, but I was undeniably (in my opinion) an asshole, so I chose to answer that for him. "Well, Ponyboy, you see, when a boy loves a girl very much-" Ponyboy's glare was enough to quiet me down. This was rough enough for them as it was, I didn't need to make it worse.

Johnny piped in helpfully, "Her name's Melody Rose. That's a nice name. I think Soda'll like it."

That really seemed to strike Echo. "Oh gosh, _Soda_. This is Soda's baby and he doesn't even know! What's he going to think? How's he going to react? How does he go from being a carefree teenage boy to a single father?!"

"What's _Darry_ going to think? He's gonna have a real big role in takin' care of her," Pony pointed out somberly. "Let's hope he just doesn't drop her off at the nearest orphanage."

Two-Bit, tapping Ponyboy with the end of his sneaker, scolded, "Now, c'mon Pony, Darry's a lot of things but he would never do that. This baby's his own flesh and blood, it's his niece. Her mom already left her, he wouldn't do that."

We all gaped at him like he just recited the Declaration of Independence off the top of his head. Two-bit, the voice of reason? "Jeez," I breathed, "this is really turning into the Twilight Zone, ain't it?"

Dally mocked from the armchair, "Aw, our little Two-Shit is grownin' up, ain't he?"

"Hey, that's _my_ nickname for him," I said petulantly and Two-Bit looked like he wanted to bash both our blonde heads together.

Smiling a smile that didn't completely reach her brown eyes, Echo tried to convince Pony, "Two-Shit's right, however much of a shock that is." Two-Bit reached forward to slap her upside the head and she snapped, "Eh, carrying a baby over here!" He held up his hands in surrender. "Anywho, he's right. Darry wouldn't do that. This is Soda's baby, his niece, and although he's going to put in a lot of effort in helping Soda take care of her, he wouldn't even _think_ of gettin' rid of her!"

Kiki craned his neck to take a better look at her and she commented pleasantly, "She looks a lot like Soda." Yup, that was definitely who she reminded me of when I first walked in. Her tiny, pale head was dressed with blonde wisps and her eyes (though they were closed now) were a rich, dark brown, just like Soda and Echo's eyes. I thought that was a little weird because she was only a few weeks old and I heard most babies were born with blue eyes, but maybe she was unique. Soda sure was, being the greek god he was.

"Damn, she really does," Ponyboy sighed, a small, kind of sweet smile playing at his lips. I couldn't help but grin as I watched him go through this transitional moment of just being a brother, to realizing he was also an uncle now.

"Y'know," Kiki brought up, "I think my ma has a bunch of my old baby stuff. Like my bassinet. She'll need one of those. Want me to go get it?" That was real smart of her and my originally intense dislike for her began to lessen. Maybe we just started off on the wrong foot, and she wasn't as much of an insufferable do-gooder as I first judged her as.

"That would be real great," said Echo thankfully. She took a long, deep breath as if this was the first time she allowed herself to relax in hours. "It would save us some money and time, too."

"I'll go with you, Kiki," Two-Bit offered, and I think he was a little relieved to free himself from the extreme amount of suffocating tension lingering in the air. "Might need some help carrying it." With that, the redheaded siblings were gone.

The baby let loose a pathetic, though admittedly adorable little cry in her sleep and Echo shushed her soothingly. Once the baby was quiet, Echo looked up at all of us and said seriously, "We're gonna need a game plan, and fast. How are we going to break this to Soda?"


	13. From Brotherhood to Daddyhood

**A/N: Salutations, fellow Outsiders' fans! Happy Valentine's Day! This is in fact my birthday (Goldie's). I turned fifteen today :). We hope you all had a fantastic holiday and hope you didn't do anything Dally and/or Two-Bit would do (i.e. criminal actions). Besides that . . . sorry for the long wait. The schoolwork's been picking up and it's hard to juggle all four of our fanfictions, especially since we're about to post two more. By the way, keep an eye out for them! One's for "Titanic" and the other is for the amazing CW show "The Originals."**

 **This chapter might be a little shorter than usual, but contains some Kiki and Two-Bit bonding, and at the end, the moment we hope you've all been waiting for! We already started on the next chapter, so it should be up sooner than this one . . . sorry again for that. Anyway, without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Oh, and thanks sooooo much for reading and for leaving such kind, thoughtful reviews! We read and appreciate every single one of them and we love all of you! Okay, we'll be quiet now XD.**

 **Chapter 13: From Brotherhood to Daddyhood**

 **Kiki's Perspective**

As Two-Bit and I walked out the front door, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. "I think the world just took a crap and fell off its axis," I said after a few too long moments of silence.

"Of all people, _Soda_ being a dad is the craziest," Two-Bit breathed in a some sort of semblance of awe.

"He isn't ready." There was no real need for me to express this when we all were aware of it, but none of us were revealing the elephant in the room.

"You ain't gotta tell me that. But there's Darry, and all of us. We're his best buddies, we'll help 'im out. That's what we're doing right now." Of all versions, this was probably my favorite of Two-Bit. Around others, he was the epitome of a wise-cracking smartass, but around me, he could display his sweet and sensitive side. As he grew older, I saw less and less of it so it was always a nice surprise when it revealed itself.

"Yeah, but we don't know anything about babies either, and neither does Darry. I mean, Darry was eight when Echo was born. He ain't got no idea how to actually take care of one. He's already got so much on his plate."

"Well, he's gonna have to find out, ain't he? All of 'em, all of us," Two-Bit replied and the rest of our walk was spent in a comfortable silence.

Our ma was on a break right now, and was probably sleeping because her second job often cut deep into the night. I felt guilty that she had no idea about the party whatsoever or anything that happened after that, but that's how it was.

She hardly had anytime to talk to us, _really_ talk to us. So, it was basically just Two-Bit and I against the world. It was through no fault of her own, and I didn't blame her for it. Sure, there were times where I resented hardly ever being able to see her, but she worked so much to keep our family afloat. Ever since our bastard of a dad walked out on us when Two-Bit was thirteen and I was seven, she was raising us all by herself. And it was no easy feat to take care of Two-Bit Mathews.

Two-Bit unlocked the door of our old house and we stepped in to find our ma downing coffee in the kitchen. Pleasantly surprised, I rushed over to her and threw my arms around her. "Hi, Ma."

"Hey, baby." She cupped the back of my head closer to her. "Hi there, Keith." Ma was the only person left to still call him by his birth name.

He waved to her as he received a snack from our refrigerator. Lucky bastard could eat and drink all he wanted and remain relatively slim. "So, Ma, there's something we gotta tell ya," I told her, wringing my hands. "And it's really important. Like, _really_ important. We need your help."

Jasmine Nancy Mathews was nobody's damn fool. Raising a son like Two-Bit lowered her expectations and sharpened her senses to a deadly point. She always expected the worst when it came to him, and rightfully so, and thus was generally untrusting of me as well- not for any particular reason, only because I was cursed to be the younger sister of the rowdiest boy on this side of Tulsa.

"What'd you do?" she demanded in her expertly no-nonsense tone. Nothing could get past her now.

"For once, Ma," Two-Bit said joyously, a little too happily in fact, considering his best buddy's life was in the process of being ripped to shreds, "I was a right little angel. Ain't that right, baby sissy?"

I rolled my eyes at his tactlessness. "For once in your goddamn life." Ma smacked me on the arm and chastened,

"Watch your tongue, Kiara!" Blood flooded my cheeks and Two-Bit openly laughed at me. _Smug son of a bitch._ This _never_ happened. I was never in trouble when he wasn't, it was ninety-nine percent of the time that either he alone was in trouble (this was typically the case), or the two of us conducted a sibling-style plan of devilish mischief.

"So, if you two little hooligans didn't stir up any trouble, who did?" That was one smart lady right there. Unlike Two-Bit's ditzy, airhead girlfriend who wasn't good enough for him.

"Well, lemme paint you a picture, here, Ma." Two-Bit slung his arm around her shoulders and waved his hand through the air as if it were a paintbrush. "I was mindin' my own business with my little sissy over here, when we stumbled upon the Curtis house. It was a nice mornin', the sun was shinin' and the birds were chirpin'-"

This was gonna last all day, so I interrupted bluntly, "Soda's ex-girlfriend dropped off a newborn baby girl, claiming it's Sodapop's. She abandoned her and now Soda has to take care of her, but he don't even know about 'er yet. We're here to take back some of my old baby stuff to help 'em out."

My mom's mouth dropped open in shock as Two-Bit pouted at me for putting an abrupt end on his sure to be extravagant tale of woe and enlightenment. "Little Sodapop Curtis? _Our_ Sodapop Curtis?"

"Do you know any other Sodapops?" slipped from my mouth before I could stop myself. Echo's somewhat newfound sarcasm had been rubbing off on me. "Yeah, Ma, _our_ Sodapop. He don't even know he's a daddy yet, neither does Darry."

Her knees buckled out from under her and she collapsed into one of our shabby kitchen chairs. "Oh my Lord. He's only seventeen. He's just a boy. He ain't ready for this kind of responsibility."

"That's why we were hopin', Momma Dearest," Two-Bit pleaded, "that you'd help the poor, damned soul out by gettin' Kiki's old baby crap." Ma only nodded, still in a stunned daze, but she still hobbled up the stairs to aid our request.

"Well, that went well," chirped Two-Bit cheerfully.

"As well as it could've gone with news like that."

He playfully slugged me on the arm, as if that would brighten up my day. "Hey, it ain't all bad. We all gotta cute gurgly thing to keep us entertained. A new edition to our gang, the tuffest one yet. Screw Mickey, I'mma watch Soda screw up at daddyhood!" Huge, body-encompassing chortles passed through him and I just glowered at him until he shut up.

"That ain't funny, Two-Bit, you know how hard this is gonna be on Soda and Darry, we ain't gotta mock 'em behind their backs. That ain't fair."

Two-Bit sobered up and sulked. It was like kicking a puppy across the room and having it stare at you with those doleful little eyes. "You don't always gotta rain on my parade, Kiki."

Though I'd never admit it out loud, that stung a little bit. I swallowed down the hurt so he'd never notice it (not that he was a real perceptive guy to begin with) and countered him with, "And that's why you need me. You need someone to pull you back down to Earth when you're up floatin' in the clouds."

He lumbered over to me and ruffled my hair in the way I always hated. "Well, that's why ya need _me_ , kid sister, to teach ya to fly." Here was _my_ Two-Bit. I prided myself in the fact that he only revealed this side to him in front of me.

I leaned into him, ignoring the stench of stale beer and tobacco. He immediately wrapped his arms around me and for a moment there was just _peace_. There wasn't anybody in the world I loved more than my big brother, however much he could get on my nerves. "I gotcha, Kiki. It's you and me against the whole wide world. Ain't nobody can break me and my baby sister up."

"They couldn't even try," I murmured into his T-shirt just as Ma made her way down the stairs with a cumbersome crib filled with various baby items.

"A little help over here," she cried as she stumbled on a step, nearly losing her balance. I raced over to grab the other side of the bassinet and Two-Bit lazily moseyed on over to "help."

After we positioned the crib on the floor, I peeked inside at its contents. There was a durable mattress, a few forgotten stuffed animals, and a few stray blankets. "Thanks, Ma, that'll help the Curtises a lot," I side-hugged her and she smiled.

"I hope so," she answered, "but it's gonna be a long road ahead when none of 'em have any experience with a baby. Why, Darry was only eight when Echo was born and he ain't even the daddy. Two-Bit, if you come home with a little baby anytime soon and expect me to take care of it, then I'mma take the wooden spoon to you!"

Two-Bit chuckled, but I caught the glimpse of fear in his eyes and I laughed much harder than him. After Ma told us to tell Sodapop that she would be here for him when (not if!) he needed help, we were on our merry way with my old crib.

It wasn't _too_ heavy, but it wasn't a feather or anything so the feat of bringing it back to the Curtis household was no easy one. The sun had already moved up into the center of the sky and just a little past. Soda and Darry would be home in a few hours. I sure hoped Echo and the rest of 'em had a game plan.

Two-Bit kicked open the screen door as we maneuvered the crib in and announced, "We come bearing gifts!"

"Oh thank God!" Echo cried back, holding up the sleeping baby girl. "I couldn't hold her any longer." She hurried over (as much as she could with the baby in hold) and lay her down on the mattress, draping the baby's yellow blanket over her. "Thanks, you guys, that was real nice of you."

I noticed that Dally was already gone, so he must have gotten bored- but he left his little sister behind. _What a jerk_. Johnny, Pony, and Kris were all loitering around and watching TV as if they had no care in the world, even though Pony's life was changing just as much as his eldest brother's and younger sister's (perhaps not as much as Soda's). "Any sooner in coming up with an idea on telling Sodapop?" I asked Echo softly after pulling her aside in the kitchen.

"You mean destroying his life?" she replied darkly with a pained grimace. "Nope, I've got nothing."

"Well, you're going to have to come up with somethin' 'cause the clock's ticking. . . ."

 **Echo's Perspective**

Time passed far too quickly for my liking. Afternoon came and went and evening was upon us. Everyone stayed, luckily, for moral support as I attempted to internalize my freak-out session. Even Two-Bit stayed for support, which was unusually kind of him.

I noticed Kristina's eyes constantly flickering over to the clock so finally, I beckoned her over into the kitchen and demanded what she was waiting for. "It can't just be Soda and Darry coming home, right?"

"You're right," she said hesitantly after a few beats of silence. "It's not _just_ that. I kind of have something at six. But you said Darry and Soda get home at five, so we're all good."

That sparked my curiosity. "What do you have at six?"

"You have to promise you can't tell Dally," she warned and before I could vow my secrecy, she insisted, "Swear on it."

I rolled my eyes because there wasn't any reasonable reason for me to instigate a conversation with Dallas in the first place, but I resigned to her request. "I swear I won't tell him. Now what is it?"

"I have a date," tumbled from her mouth and she visibly gauged my reaction. I was impressed. This was her second full day in town, and she already had a date. Jealousy nipped on the heels of admiration, but I shoved it away.

"You _do?_ With who?" Gossip was always fun to hear, and so foreign in my household because Darry thought the art was stupid and unnecessary. He, of course, didn't know what it was like to be a teenage girl. "Is it somebody bad? Is that why you don't want Dally to know?"

"It's Curly Shepard," she said in a small voice and my jaw fell open. Of all people, she had to find a _Shepard_ to go out with? That wouldn't just _annoy_ Dally, that would _infuriate_ him! Tim Shepard was kind of his best friend and he shared a sort of camaraderie with Curly, but that didn't mean he would want his kid sister to date either of them!

"Girl, you're screwed," I told her unhelpfully. "If Dally finds out-"

"That's why he's not going to hear it from either of us, right?" That was a clear, unveiled threat. If I told Dally, she'd have my head. I couldn't very well blame her for her deceit, Dally wasn't exactly known for his even temper. He would probably murder Curly, then her.

"I won't tell him, but is a Shepard, so you should probably at the very least be careful, if you insist on going out with him." I pressed extra emphasis on "if you insist on going out with him."

"I'm a Winston, we're like a match made in heaven," she deadpanned in response and I couldn't fault her logic there.

"Just be careful. . . ."

"I'm always careful. You're the one who should be more careful- it's nearly five." She pointed needlessly at the clock.

My heart skipped along like a pony missing a leg- clumsily and ready to collapse at any moment. This was it. The moment to ruin my (arguably) favorite brother's life. And frankly, Darry's. He was the one who was going to be doing all the "heavy lifting," so to speak. He would act as the baby's second parent.

Kristina watched me with concern as I stumbled into the living room, plopping down on the couch next to Pony. It was extremely rare that I ever initiated (same went for him) any physical contact between the two of us besides the occasional wrestling match, but I needed some older brother right then. So, I lay my head down on his shoulder and tried not to cry. I needed to be strong- for Sodapop.

Everyone else tried their best to ignore us because even they could see how I upset I was. Pony at first stiffened at my touch, but he then easily snaked his arm around around my shoulders. He knew not to interrogate me. He always seemed to know just what I needed, even if we clashed sometimes. "Everything's gonna be all right, Echo," he murmured into my ear. "We just got a new member of the family, that's all. Soda and Darry will love her unconditionally, the same as all the rest of us. That baby's got it goin' good."

I dared a smile at that- he knew well enough how to comfort me, because I was feeling a little better after that. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. "Yeah, she's got it goin' good, but her own mother abandoned her. Ours may have died, but she'll never have one."

"She'll have you," he insisted, but I merely scoffed at the idea.

"I'm thirteen, Pony, I ain't a mom. I'll try to be a good aunt, 'cause that's the best I can do." The tears were becoming harder and harder to keep at bay.

"You'll do great. I only hope I can be a good uncle." It was rare that he revealed any of his insecurity to the rest of it, so I was glad he trusted me enough to do so this time.

"Aw, sure you will, Pony, you-" My fate was sealed. A truck door slammed and voices sounded from outside. Darry must've picked Soda and Steve up on the way home. Fantastic, what made a catastrophic, life-changing reveal even better for all of us? Steve fucking Randle.

Everyone jumped to their feet, wide-eyed. Before, they were feigning calm for my sake, but not even Two-Bit could pretend he wasn't scared. I glanced over at the baby crib- luckily, it wasn't in direct view of the doorway. And she was sleeping peacefully (for now), the only one of us not mildly worried about anything happening next.

Well, this was it. The arrival of Melody's daddy. I wrung my hands nervously as I hurried over to greet them at the door. The rest of our houseguests cleverly positioned themselves so the crib was _completely_ out of view. _Here goes_ , I thought.

Darry was the first one to step in so I strategically blocked him with a big hug. "Darry!" So, that was my first mistake. Too forced, too contrived. Too out of character. _Dammit, I slipped up!_

"Echo, what's wrong?" he asked suspiciously, though he didn't exactly push me away. I only clung on tighter now, deciding to just keep up the act while I was at it. Steve and Soda were standing impatiently behind him, but I refused to budge.

"Nothing's wrong, Dar, I just missed you!" That was weak- that definitely was a weak excuse. Darn, I could do better than that in my sleep. I wasn't bringing my A-game, my nerves were too fried.

"Well, Darry, we kinda got something to tell ya- you too, Soda," Pony piped up from his place as one of the guards of Melody. _Huh._ He wasn't usually _this_ straight-forward. It made my job easier, I supposed, because I wasn't alone in breaking the news. I was a little miffed, though, because I wasn't entirely ready yet.

"Move over, will ya?" Steve snapped, and Darry adjusted the both of us so we stood inside, slinging his arm around my shoulders while he was at it. Steve and Sodapop stopped in their tracks as they took in the awkwardly formed barrier in the middle of the living room, blocking the view of the other side.

"Kristina, you came back?" Darry asked out of surprise, but he didn't sound angry about it. After all, he virtually admitted the night before that he was far too hard on her.

Kris was at least gracious about it. She could've given him grief right back, but perhaps this was where she differed from Dally. "Uh, yeah, Darry . . . is that cool with you? I could leave if-"

"No, no," he immediately shut her down. "You're good. You saved my little sister's life, so thanks for that. And I'm sorry for puttin' all the blame on you. That was uncalled for." She merely grinned and dipped her head in response, and I knew everything was fine between them. At least one problem was resolved tonight.

"Why're you all standing like that?" Soda chuckled, but his laughter died away when he found that no one else was smiling. "What, what is it? Pony? Two-Bit? Johnny? Kiki? Kris? What's wrong?"

"Well, hey there, buddies," Two-Bit said cheerily, though even he had to know the game was up. "Long time no see. How was your day? Mine was mighty fine, thanks for asking-"

"What're you guys hiding?" Darry wasn't anything if not blunt. I wormed my way out from under his arm and joined my fellow conspirators- Darry, Soda, and Steve were looking more confused than ever.

Two-Bit, Johnny, Kiki, and Kris knew wisely to stay silent, because it wasn't their news to tell. Ponyboy thankfully had my back and answered, "We really got something to tell you guys-"

That was when Darry just had to undo his work belt- it dropped to the floor with a loud _bang_. And, as if on cue, bitty baby Curtis started to shriek her little lungs out, rudely awoken from her slumber.

Darry's, Soda's, and Steve's expressions of sheer shock would have been comical- borderline hilarious- if the situation wasn't so grim. Just like all the other idiots in the Curtis household, Steve was the first to demand, "Echo, what'd you do? Havin' babies on us?"

"Shut up, Steve," Darry chided him instantly, and I echoed that with,

"Yeah, shut up, Steve! You ain't got no idea what you're talkin' about." Steve just glared, and Darry took that opportunity to step forward. Soda was busy gawking away.

"Guys, why is there a damn baby in my house? Move out of the way." His voice was trembling with barely contained fury and anxiety, so I knew I had to pull out the big stops. While the others obeyed him, I reached into the crib and lifted out little Melody. After bouncing her in place for a few moments, she miraculously quieted down and resumed to her state of tranquility.

If it was even possible, the three unknowing boys' (man, in Darry's case) eyes stretched even wider as I carried Melody over. Pony loyally stayed by my side, walking up with me. Melody gurgled happily as she neared Darry.

"It's a baby," Soda pointed out the obvious. "Where . . . where'd you get a baby?"

"I'd like to know the same thing," said Darry tightly. _This is it. This is the moment where everything changes._

Holding up the baby for them to see better, I explained with a wavering voice, "Um, guys, you might want to sit down." They didn't, so I just continued on, "S-Sandy dropped her off earlier-"

"Sandy was here?" Soda was positively dumbfounded. _Great,_ I thought pessimistically. _If he's already this taken aback, just wait until he gets hit with the real punch_.

"Just listen, Soda," Ponyboy begged, "she ain't done."

My throat was so dry it felt like I had just swallowed an entire sandbox and was deprived of water for a month after. Summoning up every last ounce of courage, I finished with, "Sandy dropped her off this morning, and she ain't coming back. She left a letter and . . . Soda, she's yours. The baby's yours. This is your daughter."

And . . . that was when Sodapop's legs buckled out from under him and he fainted to the ground.

"Well," mentioned Two-Bit conversationally, "that didn't go well. Anyone want dinner? I'm starved."


	14. Kindred Spirits

**A/N: It's been a month. An entire month. Ugh, we're sorry! Life's been hectic with school and whatnot, but still, sorry about that. Before we say anything else, thank you all SOOOO MUCH for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing our story! It brings a smile to our face whenever we get a notification about this story. It means a whole lot to us!**

 **This chapter is extra long to try and help make up for our long interval without updating. This is in Kristina's perspective and is mostly about Soda and the baby, and her date with Curly. Think the date will go well? Yes, no, maybe so? Well, it wouldn't be our story if there was** ** _no_** **drama. You'll have to read and find out ;). Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :D**

 **Chapter 14: Kindred Spirits**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

I knew two things for absolute sure: one, Elvis had great hair, and two, Two-Bit Mathews was a total fucking idiot. There was a time and a place, THERE WAS A TIME AND A PLACE. Right now, when Darry looked like he wanted to light him on fire, I would've given him the match.

Darry's expression was priceless. It could've gone in the museum of "Holy shit" moments, and been the most expensive exhibit. I wasn't going to lie and say it wasn't entertaining, but I also wouldn't be a total asshole and say that aloud- that was Two-Bit level dumb.

"Way to go, Two-Shit," I hissed over to him, "what a class act." Since Darry might as well have been frozen solid, I trotted over to their kitchen counter and snatched up Sandy's letter, wanting to be helpful. I tapped on Pony's shoulder and shoved it into his hands, and he nodded in thanks.

Steve dragged Soda's limp form over to the couch as Pony handed Darry the letter, telling him, "Sandy wrote this to Sodapop. You probably should read it."

Since I was already close, Echo turned around and passed the baby over to me without any warning before leading a stunned Darry over to the couch next to Soda. Surprised, I had to adjust the little thing so I was supporting her head well enough.

She looked up at me with these big brown eyes and I softened, bouncing her a little in place. I knew that within a week she would have every single person in the entire damn gang wrapped around her little finger. Kiki, Johnny, and Two-Bit following me closely, I sat down in front of Steve, Soda, Pony, Darry, and Echo with Melody still in my grasp.

Melody squirmed and gave off an innocent little cry, and I found myself shushing her, caressing her milky white cheek with my thumb. This was one lucky baby. Yeah, her own mother abandoned her, but at least she never would have to deal with her. Half the time I wished my own mother had given me up for adoption. And Soda would be a loving, caring father. Little Melody would never have to know what it was like to have a father like mine.

She would have a large, albeit dysfunctional family, but everyone would have her back and would do anything for her. That was one lucky kid. _Look at me_ , I thought, disgusted in myself, _I'm practically jealous of an innocent baby._

Darry's eyes scanned the letter and after he finished, I half-expected him to crumple it up and rip it to shreds before Soda could even read it. There couldn't have been a lot of things to throw Darry off his orbit, but this was definitely had to be in the top three.

"Soda got Sandy pregnant?" he choked out after a few moments of excruciatingly tense silence. "And . . . she left the b-baby?" Echo rubbed his shoulders comfortingly and Pony bumped him on the side in that manly way that boys viewed as a form of affection.

"Exhibit A," I said, lifting the adorable little thing up in the air. He stared at her like he just noticed her for the first time.

"How do we even know the baby's his? We're just jumping to conclusions. Sandy could be lying," Darry insisted, clearly entering a state of denial. "She cheated on him. The baby could be-"

"Didn't you read the letter, Superman?" Two-Bit interrupted good-naturedly. "The "other man" is black. I don't know about you, but that is one of the whitest babies I've seen in my whole goddamn life." He was absolutely right, that was one pale baby.

"Look at her, Dar," said Echo softly, gently, "she looks just like him."

I shifted her around in my arms and queried, "Do you want to hold her?" I didn't really wait for him to answer, I just passed Melody over to him.

It was funny how positively tiny she looked in his enormous arms. He held her like he had no idea what to do with her and when she reached up to grab a single finger of his with her entire hand, a tiny little smile blessed his face. "She . . . she has his eyes."

"Holy shit, Soda made a thing," Steve remarked as he craned his neck for a better look. "Guys, Soda made a thing! Damn, I told that boy to use protection. I told 'im I didn't want to be an Uncle Stevie."

Darry kicked him in the shin while still managing to balance Melody perfectly. It was very endearing. Normally, Darry seemed very uptight and paranoid, and would probably be freaking out over the whole financial uptight, but the baby cast some sort of spell over him; he was entranced. "Hi," he murmured, playing with the baby's bitty hand. "Hey there. I'm, um . . . I'm your Uncle Darry." Aw, well that was downright adorable. There was something about a smoking hot, muscular man with a baby to boot. It was almost surreal.

A loud groan escaped from Soda's lips and he shifted around, slurring, "Guys, I had the weirdest dream, there was this baby-" As his eyelids peeled open, he jumped as reality became apparent to him. "There it is."

"Little buddy," Darry said with almost palpable undertones of sternness, "I told you to be careful with Sandy, but you _obviously_ didn't listen. You're going to have to deal with the consequences now- we all are."

As if it was possible, Soda's face seemed to grow only paler after hearing her name. So, from what I summed up, this Sandy chick not only left Soda with a broken heart but apparently now a baby. What was she going to do next? Burn his house down?

It took a long while for him to say anything but no one would have dared to speak. The first thing he asked was a surprise to us all.

"What's her name?" His voice was barely above a whisper. Soda simply looked at the child and seemed to hold his breath as if the answer met everything to him. He hovered his hand over her for a brief second then retracted it, like he was afraid she would dissipate into a cloud of mist or shatter like fragile china. Or he just didn't want to believe she was real.

Saying the first thing in what felt like hours, Johnny answered him, "Her name is Melody. Melody Rose Curtis. Isn't that a sweet name, Soda?" He sounded hopeful.

"M-Melody." It was all he said. I was afraid he was going to pass out again.

"She looks just like you, man, you're gonna have to be chasin' greaser boys away with a baseball bat," said Two-Bit with a big, goofy grin on his face. "I'll help ya. Ain't no loser gettin' near the Melster." _Not the time, Two-Shit, not the time_.

We all had a boiling point, so it was quite understandable (thanks a lot, Two-Shit!) when Soda reached his. He jumped from the couch, nearly shoving Steve over in the process (that made me smile, but I didn't really know why, he just annoyed me from the get-go). "What in the flying _fuck_ is going on right now?! _Huh?_ I come home from work and there's a fuckin' baby waitin' for me that my ex dropped off, who I _thought_ fucked someone else and got pregnant with his kid, but no, the baby's _mine?_ What the fuck is _happening?_ " Wow, I didn't think he knew how to swear that much. We learned something new every day!

Soda was pacing furiously and erratically like an angry bull and Johnny, Kiki, and I scooted away from him as to not receive a kick. His nostrils were flared and his fists clenched. But beneath all that anger and denial, I saw it. I saw the fear locked away in his gaze. That boy was downright terrified.

Pony and Echo's eyes were huge. Clearly they had never heard him swear so much in one sitting- they didn't know what it was like to have a brother like Dally.

"Soda, calm down and watch your mouth!" Darry barked and the baby started to wail in her misery. Echo, who really seemed to be a natural at all this, gingerly took her from Darry and away from the whole confrontation, bouncing her and shushing her. "Great, you set off the baby."

Soda's voice was so strained it was beginning to sound shriek-y, like a banshee of some sort. Well, he was a seventeen-year-old carefree kid who just found out he was a father, you could hardly blame the guy. "You make it sound NORMAL! I-I feel like I just stepped into a whole other universe, l-like in that show . . ."

" _Twilight Zone_?" Kiki finished for him helpfully, and he nodded fiercely.

"Yeah, yeah, t-that. This ain't happening right now. Sandy never came back, there ain't no baby, there-"

Darry was officially unamused. "Just 'cause you don't want it to happen doesn't mean it ain't, Soda. You can't just wish it all away."

"Like hell I can't!" he bit back. "How're you takin' this so well? How is _anyone_ takin' this so well? What's wrong with y'all?"

At this point, I was fearing a mental breakdown coming soon, but before I could voice my opinion in anyway, Darry argued, "Do you think this is easy for me, Soda? Huh?" He stood to his feet, and from a sitting position on the floor, let me tell you that it felt something like sitting right underneath the Eiffel fucking tower. "This is your mistake, little buddy, and I can't even wrap my mind around it right now, let alone deal with it. All I was expecting was to come home after work and eat some dinner- by the way, Echo, it _is_ your night-"

"Great timing, Dar," she retorted with a grimace from behind the couch once the baby virtually quieted down again.

Darry brushed that one off. "Right, anyway, you're going to have to put a lid on it, Soda. Because I read the letter Sandy left. And I looked at that baby, looked into her eyes. Your eyes, Soda. There ain't no damn doubt to me that she's yours. Now, did I expect to come home one night and find out I have a little baby niece? Hell no. I still can't believe it, so that might be why I'm not kicking your ass down the street right now. This is your screw up, and you have to face the consequences like a man. I know it's gonna be a hard pill to swallow, damn near impossible, but that baby's your daughter. And Sandy . . . Sandy ain't coming back. So, because of your irresponsibility, we all have to deal with your mistake now. But I don't want you to think about that right now. I want you to look at that baby and tell me she's not yours. I dare you."

Soda, as if motivated to prove him wrong, rushed around the couch to stare down at the baby. He clearly did not receive the results he was expecting. His mouth dropped ajar as he looked at her. With her fuzzy blonde hair, and big brown eyes, and just an overall uncanny resemblance to him, there was no doubt to anybody that that baby was Soda's daughter.

"Oh my God," he choked out, his knees wavering beneath him. He had to use the couch to support his weight. "This . . . this is insane."

"No one said it wasn't," Steve breathed, his eyes comically bugged out. "Man, of all of us, I always thought Darry would have a kid first- or Two-Bit, if he knocked up his broad."

Everyone ignored him except Two-Bit, who sputtered some self-righteous nonsense about how he was smarter than that and he wasn't aiming to be a daddy anytime soon- but far less coherently.

"C-can I hold her?" It was a weak request, barely audible, but I heard it. Soda wanted to hold his daughter. "If this ain't all a dream, and I ain't losing my mind . . ."

Echo gladly passed on the baby and though his face was as pale as a sheet (the poor boy must have been afraid to drop her), he still took her in his arms. Walking carefully and meticulously over to the couch, he sat down next to Darry.

That baby had to be magic. Her ability to cast spells on typically tough greasers was simply extraordinary. With the way they acted around her, even in such a short time, it was obvious to me that little Melody had the older Curtis men already wrapped around her little finger.

Greaser boy image be damned, it was clear that Soda forgot about everything and everyone in the room but his baby daughter. "Uh . . . hi there. My name's Sodapop, but you can call me Soda. Or, um, Dad. Well, uh, maybe not, 'cause you can't talk yet, but you will. Don't really know when, but you will." His rambling was just the most precious thing. "I know you don't know me, and I don't really know you either, but I'm your dad. And . . . and that means something. You're gonna, um . . . you're gonna live here and we're gonna take care of you real good. I promise."

All of us non-family members exchanged meaningful looks; we knew it was time for us to skedaddle. This was very much a family moment, and we didn't need to impose on it with our presence.

"Well, this has been mighty fine, but I don't think dinner's gonna be happenin' anytime soon, so I think I might scoot my lazy ass outta here," said Two-Bit with a surprisingly good cover story- for him, at least. "Comin', Kiki? You can come too, Johnny, Kris, Stevie."

"You don't haveta go," Ponyboy protested, but we were already halfway to the door. Soda's eyes never left his daughter, so he didn't even notice the commotion.

"Y'all have fun," Steve tossed over his shoulder as we exited. He gave Kiki and I looks after we were outside that made it clear that he only wanted to hang with Johnny and Two-Bit. Which was fine, because I already had plans and didn't need a greasy-haired Steve to ruin them.

Two-Bit didn't seem to pick up on his hint. "So, where to next, gang?"

"Well, I have plans, so this is where I must leave you." Without allowing for any responses, I started on my way to Buck's house. Of course, that just couldn't be the end of it.

"What?" I turned around to see Two-Bit look properly outraged. "Why, Kris, I thought we were fast friends, but here ya go, already ditchin' lonely ol' Two-Bit."

"Um, we're here, too," Kiki grumbled, but he took no notice of that.

"C'mon, wherever ya goin', we'll tag along!" It was so hard to say no to him, so instead I just began to walk off so I wouldn't have to say anything at all.

"She has a date with Curly Shepard," Kiki ratted me and I came to a screeching stop. _Hold up. How the FUCK does she know?_ Then I came to a conclusion. Echo couldn't keep her damn mouth shut.

Steve released a low whistle as I turned around to face all of them and Kiki cringed, as if afraid I would lash out at her. I had a half mind to do that.

Johnny looked as wary as ever and Two-Bit . . . surprisingly serious. The mirth just disappeared down the drain. Even Steve's interest was sharpened. "Kris," Two-Bit started, walking over to me, "that ain't such a hot idea. He's a Shepard; he ain't got a good reputation, and he's too old for ya. You need to stay clear of that one."

Even _Two-Bit_ was against this? It was clear to me now how truly little they understood my personality, because if they did, they'd know that I could handle myself perfectly fine. "Two-Bit, I appreciate your concern," I ground out, "but this ain't none of your business."

Johnny shuffled on over with his hands in his pockets and told me, "Y'know, Pony's kinda friends with the guy so I've seen him around. He ain't such good company- he'll get ya into trouble." Two-Bit nodded vigorously.

"You all seem to forget that I'm a Winston!" I had to count to five in my head to keep my temper in check. "My brother's Dally Winston, and I've fought with the best of 'em before. I've fought against Crips and Bloods, hell, fought alongside a few Crips. Curly Shepard ain't no match for me."

With that, I spun around on my heel and resumed the walk back to Buck's place, but then Two-Bit said something I _never_ thought he'd say. "You take one more step and I'll tell Dally."

My blood ran cold and I was up in Two-Bit's face before anybody could blink. "Don't you dare," I hissed, revealing my tough, potentially scary gangster side I often kept dormant. I was quite a force back in New York and Two-Bit actually took a step back.

Steve seemed to pick up on the fact that this wasn't going to end anytime soon, so he flung an arm around Johnny and called over his shoulder, "Two-Bit, Johnny and I are gonna catch a movie. Meet you there when you're done with all this." Johnny didn't seem to have much choice in the matter, and Two-Bit didn't answer. Kiki just stood to the side awkwardly.

It turns out, Two-Bit wasn't backing down. He looked sterner than I'd ever seen him (hell, we were partying hard two nights before), almost like when Kiki found her way onto his bad side. "Kris, I'm an older brother and if Kiki decided to up and date Curly Shepard, I'd flip the fuck out."

"I wouldn't do that," Kiki inserted helpfully and Two-Bit flashed her a half-smile.

"Dally's my buddy," he continued, "and I owe it to him to keep his kid sister safe, just like I expect him to do. You either don't go, or I tell 'im. Pick one." His stormy gray eyes were stony.

Outrage was too mild of an emotion to how I felt. Incandescent rage seemed to fit the bill better. "Two-Bit, I think you and I have the potential to be real good friends, but you're stepping over a fucking line. We barely know each other, and I want to get to know ya better, but that ain't happening if you tell Dally. Look, Dally and I have a history that you don't understand. We've learned to tolerate each other since yesterday, but that's the extent of it."

All my anger seeped from my body, and a deep, lonely sadness replaced it. "We have a lot of shit to talk about, and neither of us have brought it up. Please, _please_ don't ruin what we've managed to build so far. I hadn't seen him in seven years, and we at the very least built a foundation, but it's gonna need a lot of work and you tattlin' on me is gonna ensure that our relationship's over before it even started. So, Two-Bit, if you like or care about me at all, please don't do this to me."

He softened up, just as I expected. It wasn't a manipulation ploy on my part, though, for once I was actually speaking straight from my heart.

"Just be careful," he stammered out, "and if somethin' goes wrong, you get outta there and find me. I'll be at the drive-in with Kiki over here, and Steve and Johnny. I won't tell Dally."

"Thank you, Two-Bit." Before I could even begin to comprehend what I was doing, I had my arms wrapped around his middle in a tight embrace. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Aw shucks, I know how great I am, ya don't need to go on tellin' me. Well, ya could, I ain't gonna stop ya."

"Egotistical, much?" Kiki teased, and I pulled out of the hug. Two-Bit playfully socked me on the shoulder and bid me adieu with,

"You have fun, but not too much fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do . . . that ain't saying much. Don't do anything I _would_ do." I laughed and we parted ways. I was in higher spirits now, but also potentially late, so I practically sprinted the rest of the way there.

Hoping to all deities out there that Dally wasn't in his room, I took the stairs up two at a time and breathed a sigh of relief to find it absent of his presence. "One less thing to worry about."

I quickly changed out of my jeans and pulled on one of my leather skirts, threw on one of my considerably tighter tank tops, but decided to keep my French braid in and wear my leather jacket in case it got too cold. I didn't feel like walking in stilettos all night, so I kept on my ratty Converse, banking on the fact that my shoe type wasn't any kind of deal breaker.

As the clock struck exactly six, I hurried down the stairs and grinned real wide when I saw Curly waiting for me. He cleaned up real nice- well, he looked the same as this morning, but he was handsome so I didn't mind.

"I have arrived!" I chirped, joining him by his side. He cast me an amused look.

"Yeah, I noticed and," he looked me up and down, "you look great." I blushed and muttered a hasty thank you. "I was thinkin' we could head down to the pool house. They have tables and food there, too, so we could eat there."

"Sounds good to me, let's bounce."

The breeze floating around me was pleasantly cool and ruffled my braid and stray strands of blonde hair. Curly's hair was so greasy that it hardly budged. The silence was a comfortable one and I revelled in the fact that neither one of us were those people that felt the need to fill the void of conversation with meaningless drabble.

The pool house was my _scene._ Greasers screwing around, the aroma of fried food wafting in the air, the sweet sound of poor souls being hustled in pool. "Too crowded for ya?" he asked after a moment when I didn't say anything. "We can go, if ya want."

"It's perfect," I grinned, and coyly poked him in the stomach. "What? Backin' out already? Afraid you're gonna get your ass kicked at pool?"

He outright scoffed at me. "Yeah, sure, in your dreams. Let's play and find out."

Dreams became reality. A little more than a half hour later, a basket of greasy, salty fries resided on our booth top table and I was in the process of assuredly kicking his ass in pool for the third game in a row. His shock cracked me up to no end.

"Oh, well, there we go!" I sang as I knocked the final eight ball into the right corner pocket. "I guess I won again- surprise, surprise. Winning's a little exhausting, don't you think- oh, right."

Curly knew I was only rigging him, but he played along with my game. "Aw, I let ya win."

"Three times in a row? I love your logic."

"Shut up." He led the way back to our table and slipped in a seat, and feeling particularly bold tonight, I scooted in after him and sat right on his lap. Just like that. No warning, no nothin'.

"Ah, the sweet smell of success and French fries," I gloated whilst popping a few of those glorious heart-stoppers into my mouth. He wriggled beneath me slightly, but he most certainly did _not_ push me off. A playful pout adjourned on his lips, so I craned my neck around and crooned, "Aw, baby, don't worry. I'll let ya win next time!"

"You didn't tell me you were a pool shark," he managed to say while chewing on a mouthful of fries of his own. "I feel cheated."

"I did not cheat." My outrage was feigned, but the mild indignation was real. "I hustled you. There's a difference. When we do this again, then you better learn it!"

His eyebrows quirked up and a smirk tweaked up the corners of his mouth. "Well, then- yes, ma'am." Then he absorbed the second part of my rebuttal. "So, we're gonna be doing this again now, aren't we?"

A light blush crept to my cheeks and I turned away. "I didn't say that. I said 'if,' not when."

He was all out grinning now. "You said 'when.'"

"I did not."

"You did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Did no-" He interrupted our childish by doing something entirely unexpected. He kissed me. Like, not one of those polite first date pecks. A _real_ kiss, full of passion and excitement. One that made me feel _alive_.

And hell yes, did I kiss that boy back. I shifted myself around accordingly to straddle his lap, deciding to turn this into a full-blown makeout session. His hands groped up and down my waist, and my fingers found themselves gripping at his greasy dark hair. Our lips danced together in perfect harmony, and for a few beautiful moments, it was like nothing else in the entire world mattered.

Until some jackass had to ruin it. Before you ask, it wasn't my asshole brother. Uh uh, it was _his_ asshole brother. "Curly, gettin' some action over there?"

We reluctantly broke apart and recognition flared up in Tim's eyes. _Crap, he remembers me!_ I hastily unwound my legs from Curly's hips and sat beside him, as if that would allow me to maintain some level of innocence.

"Does Dally know you're here?" _Damn, straight down to business._ There was no, "Hi, nice to see you again," or anything like that, just "There's no way Dally would approve of this shit."

"Um . . . yes?" Well, my cover was blown. I was usually so much better at lying and manipulating, but Curly's kiss threw me off. In a good way, of course. In a fucking _fantastic_ way.

"Get lost, Tim, this ain't any of your business!" Curly threw at him, and even I knew that wasn't the best idea in the world.

"It is my fucking business," he shot back, sliding in the seat in front of us, "when my little brother's fuckin' around with my friend's kid sister. Look, kid," he directed toward me, "I didn't know you existed, but just like I expect Dally to watch out for Angel, he'd expect me to watch out for you. So, he's gotta know about this."

Well, this night wasn't turning out the way I wanted it to. It started out so perfectly, maybe it was just my crappy luck that it had to unfold like this. "Hell no!" I said more loudly than I originally intended. Lowering my voice, I added, "Tim, I know I don't know you, but you can't do that. You just can't."

"I can and I will, kid." There was no anger present, no judgment. He was just . . . even, neutral even. Like it wasn't a big deal to him, but he knew what he had to do and nobody could stop him. That boy (man, technically) would make an excellent hit man for the mafia.

Curly pushed me lightly on the shoulder to coax me out of the booth, then climbed out himself. Tim may have not been too heated about it, but Curly sure as hell was. "Y'know what, Tim? You can take your threats and shove 'em up your ass. Me and Kris are leavin'."

Curly was pulling me out the door before I could even blink an eye. I could hear Tim faintly yelling, "Come back here!" in the background, but he was completely ignored.

"Sorry about that, Kris, but I just had to get outta there," he fumed, shoving his hands in his pockets and slouching his shoulders. "Tim's just gotta learn to get the fuck off my back sometimes."

"I know what you mean," I sympathized, though I didn't really understand the extent of it when I didn't see my own big brother for seven years. "Well, sorta. I don't have a whole lot of experience to base it on."

His anger swelling down, he looked up at me with bright, curious eyes. "What do ya mean?"

Night wrapped us in a cool blanket of faded stars. We weren't walking anywhere in particular. There was a more direct route we could've taken back to Buck's place, but we didn't end up going that way. It wasn't like we were skulking through any dark alleys or anything, our path remained as well-lit and open as possible- though both of us could handle ourselves, we weren't itching for a fight.

"I haven't seen him in seven years," I told him honestly. "Dally, I mean. We lived in New York together with my momma and the old man, and he couldn't take it anymore so he just ran off. Last time I saw him, I was only six. He just . . . left, and never looked back."

"And you're still mad at him for it," Curly guessed, and I nodded stiffly. "Why'd you up and come here anyway? Like ya said, he left ya seven years ago. Why'd you decide to up and see him?"

Huh, Curly was more insightful than I had given him credit for. I liked this new information. So, the least I could do was be truthful. "My momma had an overdose a week or so ago. Almost died." He listened closely, even more somber than before. "I guess she sorta did, for a little while. I had to do CPR, restart her heart, then steal a damn car and race her over to the hospital."

"God," Curly muttered under his breath and I smiled bitterly.

"If that guy even exists, then he sure as hell wasn't watching over me that day." Oh well, now was not the time to question my religious beliefs or lack thereof. "Anyway, a couple days ago I came home from school, and she was high again. I was done, so I left. I had enough of her, but I had nowhere to go, so I came here."

By now, we were strolling around in familiar territory. Almost to the Curtis neighborhood, actually. I vaguely wondered how we managed to find our way over here, but it wasn't a big deal, so I brushed off the thought.

"What about your dad?" he asked tentatively. There was a subject I wasn't willing to delve into.

"Prison," was all I said.

"That a good or bad thing?"

That peaked my interest. Most people would've instantly apologized and lamented over the fact, but he knew better. He knew what it was like to have a parent who sometimes was better off gone. He . . . understood me.

"Best damn thing to ever happen to me." He nodded, unsurprised, as if he'd expected that answer. "What about you? You have a black eye, said your step-dad did it. I'm guessing he's a flaming asshole?"

He laughed without any humor and then nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, he's a dick. But my dad was no better. Well, I can't really say, I guess. He walked out when I was a little kid, around three, but my ma said he was a shitty enough boyfriend and dad anyway. Angel was just a baby when he left, but Tim remembers him. Maybe that's why he's so fucked up."

"Sounds like your mom has a crap taste in men," I remarked bluntly, and he nodded vigorously.

"Sounds like your mom did, too."

"Touché."

"Y'know," he began thoughtfully. "I never told anyone this. I dunno why I'm telling you."

Our place had slowed considerably, so I positioned myself in front of him and smiled weakly. "Neither have I. I don't know, I guess . . . you're just different."

His dark brown eyes were warm and soft. "So are you."

The night was overwhelmingly peaceful. No birds were chirping, no sirens, no voices, just . . . silence. A welcoming silence. It suited us, embraced us. The two lost, wounded, broken souls brought together by sheer luck.

And we kissed for the second time that night, but this time was different. There was passion, yes, but something else. It felt like the bonding of two kindred spirits, finding solace in the other. It was like nothing I'd ever felt.

"Nice night, isn't it?" I pried my lips off of Curly's to find the source of the voice, and my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach, where it suffered a horrible death of acid and the like. Because that's what this felt like.

"Dally," I choked out, blindly groping for Curly's hand, more out of concern for his safety than my own. "This isn't what it looks like."

My brother appeared from out of the shadows, but my eyes were drawn to something else. A flash of metal. Moonlight gleamed off the blade of his knife as he twirled it around in his fingers. His icy blue eyes . . . were even sharper than the blade. "It _could_ be a nice night." His lips curled into a sinister sneer. "Not for you, Curly."

And then he attacked.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? We told you there'd be drama. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! :)**


	15. The Final Nail in the Coffin

**A/N: We're so sorry about the late update. Ugh, screw real life and its troubles. M'kay, fam, as per usual, the latest response to our story was AMAZING! Amazing, we say! You guys are so loyal, and nice, and just all-around fantastic, so thanks so much for being you! You guys brighten up our day and encourage us to keep writing. So, we made this chappy extra long for you! You guys** ** _rock_** **:D.**

 **We owe a special thanks to our reviewer TheInsanityCycle. Your review really, really touched us, and warmed the cockles of our hearts. It was so kind of you to leave such a thoughtful and beautiful review, and we absolutely love your dedication to this story. Just . . . thank you for existing. We really appreciate all of the points you made and we're so happy about your investment in our characters! And don't worry, we aren't the biggest fans of Kiki either. She will mature and develop as the story rolls along. And we hope that this chapter will show you a different side of Echo! Just in all, thanks again! :D**

 **Warning: This chapter contains violence and the mention of violence. Possible trigger warning.**

 **Anyway, enough said, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 15: The Final Nail in the Coffin**

 **Echo's Perspective**

I was secretly glad when every non-family member traipsed out of the house. We needed some family time to sort out what was going to happen next, because I didn't think any of us knew.

Soda was amazing with the baby once he got over the initial shock. The way he held her and talked to her nearly brought tears to my eyes. He already loved the little girl more than he could possibly know.

Even Darry was taking it surprisingly well. Something about that baby just brought out his soft side; she really was a miniature Soda.

Melody was in the process of falling asleep in Soda's arms, but he wasn't budging a damn inch to put her back into her crib. No, he wanted her in his sight. It was the cutest thing. I _knew_ it. I _knew_ Soda would make a fantastic father. Damn, I should have bet against somebody. Probably could have suckered some poor bastard out of a decent sum of money. Like, for example, Two-Bit Mathews.

Turns out, Darry didn't forget that it was my night to cook. Yeah, the guy's that anal. So, at the moment, I was cooking up some hotdogs because I was a lazy ass and didn't feel like cooking anything gourmet. I wasn't a great cook, anyway. Darry was probably the best out of all of us. If Two-Bit told me one more freaking time, however jokingly, that I was a girl and I belonged in the kitchen, then damn it all, they'd never find his body.

"Echo, are you almost done? You ain't burning them, are ya?" Ponyboy whined over from the living room. _Uh uh, I don't think so_. The jerk refused to help me with _anything_ at all, and he had the nerve to question my iffy culinary talents.

"Pony, you can take your impatience and shove it up your ass," I informed him matter-of-factly, and his green (no matter how many times he insisted they were gray, they're green as hell) eyes narrowed at me.

"You two, cut the arguing already," Darry scolded absentmindedly, but it was half-hearted, because ninety-eight percent of his attention was glued firmly on his bitty niece. This baby was a life-saver. If he was so focused on her, then Pony and I could practically get away with murder. Which I sure would need to, if Two-Bit fired one more sexist comment at me.

So, yeah, turns out I did burn the hot dogs. A little. It wasn't anything for Pony to bitch over, considering I lathered the dang thing with the sickening amount of mustard he just adored. It made my stomach churn just handling it.

"Little buddy, maybe you should put her back in her crib," Darry suggested to Soda as I passed out the various plates of food. Normally, we ate in the kitchen 'cause Darry was a stickler for that kind of stuff, but we couldn't just abandon our main source of entertainment.

"Naw, Dar," Soda whispered back, adjusting Melody's soft yellow blanket around her so it covered her adequately. "I like watching her sleep. I already missed out on the first few weeks of her life, I don't want to miss anymore."

I sat down on the crusty carpet and took a bite of my stringy hotdog just as Ponyboy decided to shoot off his mouth like an idiot. Man, that boy was spending _way_ too much time around Two-Bit. "Well, Soda, considering Sandy left her and you're gonna be raising her for the next eighteen or so years, I don't think you gotta worry about that."

Well, it wasn't like the kid was wrong, but that could have been worded a whole lot better. Soda didn't seem to mind, though, he seemed almost pleased. _Yeah, Soda, just wait until_ she _sneaks out to some stupid party and binge-drinks._ Jeez, no wonder Darry was so pissed at me. That was an idiot move.

"That's something we need to talk about," Darry grunted, and Soda's head immediately snapped up as his eyes flared up with suspicion.

"The hell you talking you about?" Soda fired at him, clutching his daughter closer to him protectively. "We ain't dropping her off at some orphanage, Dar. No sir-ee, she's all mine!" _Man, he really jumps to conclusions real quick._

Darry exhaustedly ran a hand over his face. "That's not what I mean, Soda. Of course we ain't doing that. What I'm talking about is she ain't just your responsibility, she's all of ours." He eyed us all expectantly and we straightened up, prepared to listen to what he had to say. "Look, Pony, Echo, I know I told you guys that you were gonna have to grow up some after Mom and Dad died, but you're gonna have to grow up even more now." I nodded, understanding, and even Pony didn't dispute his declaration.

"That ain't true, Dar!" Soda protested weakly. "She's my daughter, my responsibility. You don't gotta involve them in this. They're just kids. They don't need to be saddled with this."

Darry just scoffed at him, incredulous. Soda did seem to be throwing his logic straight out the window. We _all_ had to live with the baby, not just Soda.

"Soda, you need to actually think right now." Soda scowled at him in response; he didn't like people making him feel dumber than he already felt. Now, I just wanted to hug the human teddy bear. "That baby doesn't have two parents; she doesn't have a mother. So, we're gonna have to fill in and you know it."

Soda nodded sadly, resigned to the fact that his burden was all of ours to share.

"And money's gonna be tighter than it already is." That's what it always came down to. Money. "Look, I've been gettin' more jobs lately and I might be lookin' at a promotion soon enough, but still, babies require a hell of time and money. And now we're talking about time. Babysitters may be more trouble than they're worth, so all of y'all are gonna have to sacrifice some personal time. But most of all you, Soda. You're gonna have to be taking her to work some- I don't know how, but you'll have to figure out a way."

Well, damn, Darry sure wasn't sugar-coating it. No comforting Soda, just "You knocked the girl up, deal with the consequences." It _was_ what Soda actually needed to hear, though.

"I will, Darry, promise," Soda pleaded with him earnestly.

"You'll have to." Utterly unsympathetic Darry wasn't all that pleasant to be around, but Soda _did_ need a reality check. Well, the baby herself was a hella good reality check on her own, but still. "You ain't got much time to be a kid anymore. You're gonna have to man up."

"I will, I get it," Soda whispered, staring down at his angelic daughter instead of meeting Darry's hard gaze.

"Gee, Darry, you don't need to hassle him like that," Pony pointed out on Soda's behalf. "He already knows he screwed up."

"Dammit, Pony, you ain't helping!" Soda snapped at him and I jumped in shock. Soda didn't ever talk to him like that. Pony scooted away from him, reproachful. "I made a mistake, yeah, but take one look at that baby and tell me she's just a damn screwup. I ain't letting her grow up and think that's all she is."

"Okay, Soda, you don't need to get so worked up about it," I soothed him, and he visibly relaxed before my eyes. "Nobody thinks that your baby's just a screwup. She's a Curtis, and everyone knows how great we are."

Even Darry cracked a smile at that one. After we all ate a good amount of our dinners, Soda while balancing the baby precariously, I washed the dishes in an admittedly cursory manner, until Melody awoke from her slumber and let out this little pathetic cry. That's when things got _real_ interesting.

"What do I do?" Soda demanded, panic written all over his face in big bold letters. "Jesus, you guys- she's cryin'! _What do I do?_ "

"You have to see _why_ she's cryin'," Ponyboy pointed out the obvious, earning a dirty glare from Soda. Darry looked equally clueless, so I knew this was my time to shine.

"Pass me the kid," I sighed, and he did so without protest. I lifted her diaper to my face, and noted with relief that she was clean. _Oh thank the lord,_ I thought gratefully. "She's probably hungry."

Sodapop followed me like a lost puppy as I heated up a bottle for her, shushing her as she wailed her little head off.

"Man, doesn't that thing have an off-switch?" I heard Pony complain in the background; that was succeeded by a loud smack from Darry, to which Pony responded with a noisy " _Ow!_ " _Serves him right. Thanks Darry, you're the man! Not that I would ever say that out loud, of course._

"How do you know how to do this?" Soda asked quietly, a little put out. I took pity on the boy and replied soothingly,

"Sandy left some instructions in the little care package she left. Relax, other than that, I'm just as clueless as you are . . . if that helps at all." It probably didn't. He desperately craved assurance, and I was not giving him any. We were all going to have to figure this out together.

"Oh," he said, still a bit crestfallen. I passed his daughter back to him along with the bottle, which he hovered over her face with uncertainty.

"Put it in her mouth, Soda," I sighed, and he obediently stuck the nipple into her mouth. Her lips clasped onto it and she sucked at the bottle eagerly, almost greedily.

Soda watched in sheer wonderment. "Wow . . . she's eatin'. I'm feedin' her- she's like a regular _person_."

"She is, Soda," I said kindly, brushing a strand of downey baby hair out of Melody's forehead as she guzzled down her milk. "She's just a little person. She just needs to be taken care of more than normal folks, that's all."

"Melody's kind of a mouthful, don't ya think?" Pony brought up as we settled back into the living room, after I taught Sodapop that the baby needed to be burped after a feeding. That job he handled with no fuss or confusion. "I think she needs a nickname."

"Well, Two-Bit offered up "the Melster," but I'm not too sure about that one," I chuckled, and Darry scrunched up his face.

"We ain't calling a baby that," he vetoed. "Isn't Mel a nickname for Melody?"

"I like Mellie," Soda offered, playing with the baby's bitty feet. "'Cause we can call her that when she's little, and when she gets older, she can go by Mel if she wants to. Or not."

"Mellie it is then," Ponyboy concluded as the baby fell asleep yet again. "Soda, newborn babies don't sleep all that much, so you should probably count your blessings and put her in the crib." For once, Soda complied with his instructions.

I knew then that the baby would be good for us; for all of us. Everything had been especially rocky since Johnny killed the Soc and nearly died, because Pony had withdrawn even more than right after our parents died. His relationship with Darry was slowly and surely deteriorating, and I'd been admittedly changing ever since Mom and Dad were killed, so I didn't get along as well with anybody in my family except Soda, 'cause it was impossible to be at odds with him. But even Soda wasn't the same since Sandy left him.

Maybe Soda's daughter would be the glue that held us all together, even if the money would be more strained. It would be all worth it.

The minutes rolled by as we spent some good family time together, too lazy and drowsy to head off to bed. I snuggled up against Darry and used his thigh as my pillow, Soda leaned up against the couch with his eyes glued on the crib, and Pony was knocked out on our crusty carpet.

The four of us must have drifted off, but sometime later a dry throat and need for a drink of water awakened me. Still half-asleep, on the way to the kitchen, I tripped over a dark form on the carpet and and fell on top of it. It was a _person_.

Naturally, I awoke completely and screamed out my lungs, waking everyone else up. Beneath me, now that I had a better look, was none other than Two-Bit, who was as white as a sheet. "For the sake of everythin' holy, get the hell off me!"

"What the hell's goin' on?" Darry boomed, suddenly standing over us and hauling me off of Two-Bit. All the noise and ruckus made the baby start shrieking, a little like I did a few seconds before, and Soda tiredly stumbled over to her. Ponyboy was nowhere to be found, apparently the only one smart enough to crawl his ass to bed.

"Two-Bit tripped me!" I yelped at the same time as Two-Bit complained, "Echo tried to kill me!"

"Oh, bullcrap, Two-Shit!" I shouted down at him, still rattled from my fall. "I just suffered a near-death experience because of your stupid ass!" He looked offended, but I couldn't care less. All Darry could do was chastise me about my language. _Gee thanks, Dar, never mind the fact that I almost died._

Soda shot me a warning look as he attempted to calm his daughter, and Pony stomped out from his and Soda's room with his glorious bed-hair apparent. "Why the hell are y'all yelling?"

"Nothin', Pone, go back to bed," Darry sighed, and Pony sneered at me in only the way he could before retreating back into his dungeon. _That's right, Pony, get lost, you're no help anyway._

If you thought _this_ was all serene, which it wasn't, since I almost died and all, then what happened next was a real treat. Somewhere from outside, a scream sounding suspiciously like Kristina rang through the cold night air, "DALLY, GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

 _Well, shit_. Since I was kind of a drama addict, while everyone just sat there and strained their ears, I was up on my feet and out the door before I knew what was happening. Darry shouted, "Echo, get back here!" but, surprise surprise, I didn't listen.

The first thing I saw was the knife, then the boy holding the blade. Dally was presumably threatening to slice Curly Shepard into ribbons. And standing between the two of them, equally enraged as Dally, was Kristina. Well, her date must've not gone well. Attempted murder was never a good sign. "Dally, put that knife away right now or I swear I will never speak to you again as long as I live."

I tip-toed over to them (none of them noticed me), but I could tell from Dally's slanted, wobbly posture that he was as drunk as Two-Bit on a bad day. I got close enough to see Dally's wicked sneer, and hear, "I didn't see ya for seven years, it ain't gonna make much of a difference. Makes no fucking difference to _me_." Kris visibly flinched; that had to hurt.

"Go fuck yourself, Dally, you ain't worth anybody's time," Kristina hissed back, and if anything, he looked even _more_ dangerous now.

"Hey, you greasy bastard," Curly growled, stepping out from behind Kris, opening up his arms for attack. "Don't talk to her like that."

Darry, Two-Bit, and Soda exited the house (Pony must've been saddled with baby duty) just as Dally spat, "You're goin' down, Shepard."

"Bring it, Winston," Curly said without an ounce of fear in his voice. This time, as Dally lunged forward again, he managed to get a hold of Curly's collar and shove him to the ground, before Kris and I yelled at the same time,

"Dally, stop!"

Feet pounded behind me and both Darry and Soda stood as my bodyguards. "Get in the house, Echo," Darry told me through gritted teeth as Two-Bit shouted at Dally to get a grip. "This ain't your fight."

"Hell no," I bit back, maneuvering around the both of them to stand protectively near Kris.

Kris frantically reached forward to grab the back of Dally's old leather jacket and pull him away, but Dally angrily flung his arm back instead and backhanded her across the face . . . _hard_. She was thrown to the side with a yelp of pain, and all was silent.

It was like the gunshot soundin' around the world. Everybody, even Darry, stared with wide eyes at the scene unfolding before us. We were all immobile statues. Kristina was absolutely stunned as her fingers trailed her cheekbone, and even Dally looked surprised with himself. He was staring down at his own hand, like he couldn't believe what he had just done.

I gently assisted Kristina to her feet and kept a firm grip on her shoulders, so she wouldn't break free and attack Dally. Darry, Soda, and Two-Bit took this opportunity to haul Dally off of Curly, who in the meantime had furiously drawn his own blade, ready to gut Dally for his hitting his girl. His muscles were taught and prepared to attack.

There was an emotion akin to regret present in Dally's icy blue eyes, and he said a lot softer than before, "Krissy, I didn't mean-" He shrugged out of my brothers' and Two-Bit's hold and stepped forward almost beseechingly.

"Burn in hell, Dallas," she replied so chillingly that the temperature must have dropped a good thirty degrees. _Everybody_ winced now. "That's where you belong."

He was awfully quick to defend himself. "I didn't mean to-"

Kris wasn't hearing any of it. All she had to say was, "You're just like the old man."

An invisible knife entered Dally's gut and he just about doubled over at the force of it. And, as per usual, he morphed his momentary sadness into rage. "Y'know what, Kris? I didn't want ya to come here anyway, so I don't know what your fuckin' problem is!"

"You don't know what my fucking problem is?" Now she was screaming too, and she weaved out from under my hands. I knew from experience that it was never a good idea to restrain an angry Winston. That girl had a whole lot of pent up emotions, and she finally exploded.

"My _problem_ is that you abandoned me! You left me with them! How _could_ you, Dally? We were inseparable, it was you and I against the world, and I _adored_ you. I fucking loved you _so damn much!_ Do you understand that?!" The raw emotion woven through her voice was almost palpable, and we could _all_ feel the force of it.

All Dally could do was stare back and stand his ground as she marched towards him. There was no way in hell Kristina was going to let him slip a word in or defend himself. No, the spotlight was on _her_. "Dally, you abandoned the one goddamn person who loved you _unconditionally_ , the one person who would do _anything_ for you! You said you'd protect me, protect me from them, and you fucking lied. You were the person I relied on most, and you betrayed me, shattered my trust. The reason I can't trust anybody isn't because of them, Dally, it's 'cause of _you!_ "

I felt incredibly out of place, like I was witnessing a private conversation. Which, in all intents and purposes, I was. Some deeply personal stuff was being thrown about, and I felt wrong for even hearing it. It appeared that Darry, Soda, Two-Bit, Curly were thinking the same by their awkward, stiff poses.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Kris," Dally replied impassively, at least no longer shouting. Thank God for small favors. "What's done is done." If that was his version of an apology, then he was downright pathetic.

"At least, I don't know, _acknowledge_ it!" she almost pleaded with him, her voice thick with potential tears. "Acknowledge that _you_ had a role in ruining my life! I was six years old. _Six years old!_ You broke my damn heart, and I just want you to at least _understand_ that."

I half-expected her to burst into tears, in which I didn't know what any of us would think to do, but like the Winston she was, she chose outright aggression instead. She practically charged him, and if he was anybody else, he would've backed the hell up. But, alas, he was as bull-headed and tough as she was. She shoved him backwards over and over again, releasing all of her incandescent fury onto him. It was a miracle he didn't fight back, but he just . . . accepted it, like maybe, just maybe, he thought he deserved it.

"Don't _ever_ hit me again, you son of a bitch! Dad beat both of us, and if I remember right, you hated it just as much as I did. I ain't gonna sit back and watch you turn into him! But you're more like 'im than ever." She was barely holding her tears back at this point, still pushing him backwards. The fact that he was drunk didn't help matters as he stumbled over and over again. "What the hell is wrong with you? Fight back! FIGHT BACK!" He didn't bend to her vicious demands.

"Kris, calm down," I called over to her, ripping her out of her bloodthirsty trance. "Please, this isn't going to help anything. Y'all need to just walk away and cool off." Pssh, like that was going to happen. At least I tried, the same couldn't be said for anybody else.

As usual, nobody listened to me. Well, what else was new? At least it seemed like Kristina didn't listen to _anybody_ , so it wasn't personal.

Kris wasn't done; she wasn't anywhere _near_ done. "Dallas Austin Winston!" Based on everyone's dubious looks, she added, "Yeah, my old man really likes Texas, deal with it. Now, Dallas, if you _ever_ hit me like that again, then I'll . . . I'll . . ."

 _Please don't say what I think you'll say,_ I begged mentally, _please don't say what I think you'll say._ She had the potential to, right now, destroy the already shredded remains of their relationship.

"You'll do _what?_ " Dally snarled down at her.

Quick as a flash, Kristina yanked out her switchblade from her back pocket, flipped it open, and pointed it at him. _Oh God, no, no, please don't!_ The rest of poised for action, ready to break up a possibly deadly fight. "Then I'll slit your throat, and I'll watch you die."

My heart ripped into two jagged pieces as I observed the two outcast siblings, the survivors, the two . . . _enemies,_ who had so much more in common than they thought. If only they could push their differences aside, and accept the fact they were the only real family they had left in the world, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Both of them stepped too far over the line tonight, and there was no going back from what they said or did. If they were going to form another relationship, then it would be from the ashes and rubble of the old one. There was nothing left of it now.

He lashed out and grabbed her blade-wielding arm, and the boys were seconds away from jumping forward and intervening. But Dally didn't aim to hurt her, at least not _physically_. His eyes were colder than I'd ever seen them when he told her matter-of-factly, "You're gonna take your shit from my room. You ain't gonna stay with me anymore. I never want to see you again, little sister." He turned around and began to stalk off, just like that. No goodbye, no sentiments, no insults, nothing. Dally was hurt, and he wanted to go crawl away somewhere to lick his wounds.

"The feeling's mutual, big brother!" she bellowed after him. He didn't respond or turn back around, just disappeared into the darkness.

"Okay, guys," Darry, always the leader, told everybody but Kristina and Curly after a few beats of shock, "we should head inside. There . . . there ain't anything we can do right now." Soda and Two-Bit led the way, both subdued. Two-Bit squeezed Kristina's shoulder on the way, though, but I didn't think she even noticed. She just stared after where Dally left.

"I'll be inside in a second," I said to Darry, and even he knew now was not the time to argue with me. I needed to be here for Kristina.

Curly wandered over to Kristina, who by now, had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Kris, I'm . . . so sorry. I . . . I didn't . . ."

"Don't be sorry," she mumbled under her breath, looking anywhere but in his eyes. "You didn't do anythin' wrong. He did. _I'm_ sorry. If you don't want to see me again, I understand."

Now, I didn't know Curly Shepard very well at all. Darry told me to stay away from the likes of him, and I did. He was a no-good greaser, that I knew. But his brown eyes were so warm and soft, that I found my opinion of him completely changing. There was _definitely_ a different side to him. "Kris, it's gonna take a lot more than that to chase me off." He leaned forward and very gently pressed his lips against hers as a goodbye, and walked away in the direction Dally disappeared to. Well, at least whatever they had brewing wasn't ruined.

Several minutes rolled by, and Kris and I were sitting on the curb in front of my house. "You want to talk about it?" I asked meekly, grasping her hand in what I hoped was a comforting gesture.

She sniffled and just shrugged, still crying slightly. "There's nothin' to talk about. I can't believe that all just happened."

"Neither can I," I breathed in agreement, then realized that probably didn't help all that much. "Kris, that wasn't your fault. Dally was outta line. He was in the wrong. He shouldn't have attacked Curly, and he shouldn't have said the things he said, and he shouldn't have hit you."

She let out a humorless little chuckle, her breath curling from her mouth in puffs of misty white in the cold night air. "I shouldn't have said what I said either, but I can't take it back, and neither can he."

"Where are you gonna stay?" I inquired nervously, because we both knew she couldn't stay at our place. Not with the new baby. There was no room or money for her.

"I'll find something." I raised an eyebrow doubtfully, and she said with a little more fervor, "I will. I'll figure it out. I always do."

"I'm here for you, Kris. I . . . I just want you to know that. Whatever happens, I'll be here for you. I promise."

She smiled weakly at me, and nodded gratefully. "Thank you. I . . . needed to hear that. I needed to know that at least _somebody's_ on my side." I felt like, for the first time, I was truly seeing the _real_ Kris. She wasn't as tough and and cocky and untouchable as everyone thought her to be. She was a vulnerable, hurting, lonely young girl, who was only doing the best she knew how to survive.

"Kris, I will always be on your side, and not just 'cause you saved my life. I know we have only known each other for a few days, but I respect you. You are one hell of a strong girl, and I hope one day I could be as strong as you," I told her with a pure honesty. The girl before me was the strongest person I had ever met.

She actually laughed for real this time, and bumped me on the shoulder, but in an affectionate way. That was when I knew we would be close, maybe even best friends. "Aw, shucks. Echo, you ain't so bad yourself. You've dealt with a lot, and trust me, you're strong. But, believe me, you don't want to be like me." I was already shaking my head before she was finished, but she only shushed my attempts to protest. "I had the wrong idea when I came down to Tulsa. I thought Dally and I still had some sort of relationship left. We don't. And I know our relationship ended the second he walked out that door seven years ago, but I just hoped that _maybe_ something was left. There ain't."

"Hey, don't give up on Dally just yet. I have known that boy for a good number of years now. He's stubborn, a real jackass, and overall can be plain mean, but he can still love. Deep down, he cares about Johnny, and he cares about you. He just needs someone to teach him how to love again," I explained softly. Dally and I had never really even talked too much, but I had observed him over time. He was rough and tough, but he was there when we needed him. He wouldn't be so loyal if he didn't care.

"You don't get it, Echo." There was this look in her eye, this look that I would never forget. It was so . . . haunted. "You . . . you need to keep what you have with your brothers. Please, just do it for me. Because when it's all gone, it's gone. There's no gettin' it back. What he did tonight, what I said . . . I lost him all over again." One last tear spilled over the brim of her eye, and she didn't bother to wipe this one away. "But this time, I lost him for good."

I didn't know what to say to that. All I could do was wrap an arm around her shoulders and look off into the night, searching for answers I knew I couldn't give her. I just hoped with everything in me that she was wrong.

But I had this sinking feeling that maybe, just maybe . . . she wasn't.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Love it? Like it? Hate it? Let us know! How are the Curtises going to be able to handle the baby? Do you think Dally and Kris can become siblings again, or is their relationship gone for good? Tell us what you think, and thanks again for reading! :)**


	16. Act First, Think Later

**A/N: Gaaaaah, we took way too long to update. We're sorry about that, guys. Real life sucks. But good news, everyone! School ends in just over a week for us! So that means, we're going to have waaaaaaay more time to write. In the meantime, thanks soooooo much for the reads, favorites, follows, reviews, and PMs! We love you guys, and we really appreciate the support. It keeps us motivated. :)**

 **This chapter is mostly Kurly (as our lovely reviewer TheInsanityCycle dubbed it), with some Ponyboy sprinkled in. Kris is going to be making some pretty big decisions in this chapter, but we'll have to see if they're good for her. . . .**

 **Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 16: Act First, Think Later**

 **Kristina's Perspective**

Echo sat with me longer than I expected. It was nice of her. She didn't have to, as I repeatedly told her, but she did it anyway. And I was glad. I had wanted her to stay with me, even if I'd never tell her that. But I think she knew, there was an unspoken bond between us.

But eventually, Darry _did_ come outside to bring her back in. He wasn't too bad about it. He even offered for me to stay on their couch, but I wasn't in the mood. I ended up sitting in the same place on the sidewalk all night long, just staring at nothing, yet everything.

Faded pink streaks painted themselves across the sky. I considered using the morning light as an opportunity to retrieve my duffel bag from Dally's room, but decided against it. He'd more likely be gone in a few hours, and I didn't want to see him, for obvious reasons.

"Like lookin' at sunrises?" I glanced up in surprise to see none other than Ponyboy Curtis above me, adorned in only a T-shirt and sweat pants. "I like sunsets, but sunrises ain't bad either."

He sat down next to me, and I replied carefully, "I like 'em. Haven't been able to see too many of 'em lately, but back in New York I'd get up at dawn every day and watch the sunrise. Here, my sleep schedule got all thrown out of whack, so I didn't really want to. But now . . ."

"You didn't sleep at all, did ya?" He eyed me carefully with his kind green eyes. "You don't look like ya did."

"It was hard to sleep . . . after last night." Damn near impossible was a better term for it.

Pony shifted almost uncomfortably. "Yeah, I overheard a lot of it. Y'know, I don't think Dally meant all the stuff he said. Just like I don't think you meant all the stuff you said."

"I think a part of me did mean it." I had no idea why I was talking about this with him, admitting all of this, but something about him was . . . trustworthy. There was something about him that told me he wouldn't use this information to stab me in the back. "A part that's too big. I think if he hit me again, then . . . I don't know what I'd do. But, I'll tell you this. I wouldn't let it happen again."

I didn't know what to expect- at the very least, I expected him to _judge_ me. But he didn't, and I was beyond thankful for that. He faced me, and there was this sincerity ebbing off of him that captured my full attention. "You have every right to be angry at him, Kris. But . . . think about this. He ran away seven years ago, right? And you ran away a couple days ago. Both of you got to the point where you couldn't take it anymore, and y'know, you ain't much older than he was when he ran off. He was only eleven. You're what, thirteen? You both broke free. Maybe you two aren't so different after all."

I didn't want to accept how absolutely true his statement was, so I reacted rather poorly. Jumping to my feet, I glowered down at him and barked, "It ain't the same thing! If our roles were reversed, and I was the _older_ sister, I would've _never_ left Dally. I would've _never_ abandoned him. So, yeah, we're pretty damn different."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I didn't mean that in a bad way. Even if you can't see it right now, being angry, which you are fully within your right to be, you two share good traits. Dally isn't all bad, he helped me through a rough time and in the little time I've known you, I see those traits in you."

His voice was genuine, yet it seemed like such bullshit. The compliments twisted inside my mind into insults. No way was I like Dally. Dally was a cold, hard dick who cared for no one but himself. I learned that the hard way. "I _appreciate_ your input, Ponyboy, but there isn't much I can do about it anyway. He never wants to see me again, and that's that." I began to walk off, leaving him alone on the sidewalk. "Nice talkin' to you."

I found myself back at Buck's place, and sure enough, when I entered, I found my duffel bag and guitar case thrown carelessly at the bottom of the stairs, and breathed out a sigh I hadn't realized I'd been holding. At least I didn't have to interact with Dally in anyway.

Once I was back out on the streets, the truth struck me like a wrecking ball. I was homeless. Again. And I had utterly no idea what to do, where to go.

My options were limited. Dally was obviously a no-no, the Curtises had enough roomies as it was, and I didn't think I could stand living in the same house as Kiki Mathews. Maybe, just maybe I'd have to go back to New York. _No, no, no!_ I immediately pushed that option away. I _refused_ to go back there, back to my mother.

"Kris!" I glanced backwards to see Curly jogging toward me. That boy surprised me. I didn't think he would want anything to do with me last night. It wasn't my proudest moment. But here he was, looking for _me_. "Thought ya'd be here. Did ya run into Dally? I was about to go on in there and break his fuckin' nose. He in there?"

"Not from what I can see, but you can check if you wanna." I shrugged. "No point to it, though. He doesn't want to ever see me again, and he's pretty high up on my shit-list, too."

Curly looked like an angry bull, spittin' fire and dragging his hooves along the dirty-beaten ground. "That motherfucker hit you. You have a big bruise on your face. _Goddamn_ him. I was about ready to stab that piece of shit."

"So was I," I said with a dry, tight smile, but that didn't appease him any.

"He deserved everything you said to him." We both knew that that wasn't true- or who knows, maybe just I did- but I liked his support all the same.

"Well, it's too late to take back anyway."

Something in his expression changed. "Where are ya going to stay? Dally kicked you out of his room 'cause he's a dick. You stayin' with the Curtises?"

"Nope." I popped the "p" for extra effect. "I'm pretty much fucked. But there is no way in the goddamn universe I'm gonna be crawling back to Dally and beggin' him to take me back. Once upon a time, I was a kick-ass sister, and he fucked me over. He's in the wrong, not me, so he can suck eggs."

A wicked smile touched his lips, and there might as well have been a light bulb floating above his head. "You wanna piss him off?"

That _did_ sound pretty good. "What do you have in mind, Curly?"

"Move in with me." Did he say that? Did he _really_ say that? I couldn't tell if my mind was playing tricks on me. Was this a hallucination? Did somebody spike my drink? But when was I drinking? Okay, now I was seriously confused.

"Um . . . what?" I couldn't think of anything more eloquent to say.

Now, his pretty brown eyes sparkled with a whole new kind of mischief. "You wanna stick it to the man? He treated you like shit. He abandoned you, then last night he hit you. Ain't you mad at him?"

All good points, all good points. Curly _seemed_ to be talking sense. "I've been mad at him for seven years," I admitted. "It never stopped, and it hasn't stopped yet."

"So, get back at him," he offered smoothly. "He claims he never wants to see you again. Well, let's see how he reacts to this. You ain't got anywhere else to stay. Move in with me."

Even if I tried not to, I felt myself warming up to the idea. "But what about your brother? Your sister? Your mom? Your asshole stepdad? You can't just let me stay without asking them."

"The folks don't give a shit about me," he insisted. "Angel'll probably end up likin' you anyway, and if Tim tells Dally, then good. Let Dally piss and moan, considerin' he made all this happen."

It occurred to me what he could want out of this arrangement, and I wasn't willing to dish it out. "Curly Shepard, that doesn't mean I'm gonna have sex with you, 'cause I'm not. Let me tell you that right now. I just turned thirteen, you're fifteen, we're in different places. Gimme some time. You're doin' me a favor. That doesn't mean I owe you sex, let me tell you that right now."

"All right, all right," he smiled. He was more handsome when he smiled. Kinder. When he frowned, he looked like any other hard greaser, screwed over by everyone and ready to fight back tenfold. But when he smiled, he looked like the boy I was slowly falling for.

"Then I'll move in with you," I said with a grin, and he whooped, pumping a fist in the air. I was hoping dearly that I wouldn't regret this later. . . .

"Here, I haveta show you somethin'." He grabbed me by the hand, and began dragging me down the road, but I didn't mind. The boy just gave me a place to stay. My future was a lot less rocky now.

"Wait, Curly." I pulled him to a stop, and he looked back, confused. Before I had a chance to change my mind, I stepped forward and pressed my lips sweetly against his. He stiffened for a moment, then eagerly allowed me entrance to his mouth. We made out in the middle of the sidewalk for a good minute, then I pulled away and said breathlessly, "Thank you for everything."

"So, what does that make us?" He waggled his eyebrows. "That was hot. You know it, I know it."

I was in the mood to tease him. "Gee, I don't know, Curly. We've only had one date. Maybe we ought to take it _slow_."

"You're movin' in with me," he pointed out.

"Not how you're thinkin'," I was quick to argue, and he fixed me with an easy smile. "You've probably had a thousand girlfriends already. A revolving door of greaser girls." He opened his mouth to protest, but I silenced him with a single finger. "Let me finish. We barely know each other. We've had one date. How do I know you're not going kick me to the curb as soon as a nice pair of legs catches your eye? How do I know you ain't going to abandon me like everybody else?"

Everybody abandoned me, in one way or another. Dally straight up left and never looked back, my old man wound himself up in jail, although it was where his rotten soul belonged, and my mama never physically left me, but she'd emotionally checked out a long time ago. I'd been on my own for too long a time, and frankly, I was sick of it. Just because I pushed people away, didn't mean I didn't want them around. I just didn't know how to show it too well.

He moved into my personal space and cupped my cheek. I found myself leaning into his touch. "'Cause you ain't like any other girl I've ever met. If I left you for somebody else, then I'd be a fucking idiot. And I ain't nobody's fool."

I wanted to accept that, I really did. But my insecurities spurred me on as I blurted out, "But how do I know that isn't what you've said to every single girl, just to get them under the sheets?" I stared down at my shoes, suddenly dreading his response. He was going to leave me, I just knew it, and then I'd be alone again.

His hand wrapped around the back of my head and pushed my lips against his. But this time, he led the dance. Our kiss was full of passion and excitement, and the energy never seemed to die down between us. He pulled away too abruptly, and I leaned my head against his chest in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"Because, Kris . . . you make me want to be better." His chest rumbled with vibrations as he spoke. "And I've never had somebody make me feel like that before. You ain't gonna just flutter your lashes and sing a pretty song just so we can have sex and move on. You're my equal. Hell, you could probably kick my ass if ya wanted to." At least he knew it. He grinned down at me. "Now, the better question is why you wanna be with _me?_ "

I didn't think I would receive the question in reverse, that he might be just as insecure as me. "You're not like how society thinks you are. You're not _just_ a greaser boy. You're more. I have no one, and . . . everyone's been my enemy for years, but you've been kind to me."

"Everyone's treated us like shit. But we don't have to do the same to each other." I smiled widely at his words, and nodded fiercely.

He winked at me, and I let him lead me to whatever destination he was keen on showing me. I didn't know if I was expecting anything personal, or at least generally _nice_ , but what I wasn't expecting was an old, abandoned warehouse. "Curly, you sure you got the right address?"

He nodded and laughed. "Lemme show you inside." _Oh, yay, we get to go_ inside _the creepy warehouse._

It was bigger inside than I expected. There was an old, worn-out counter on one end, and a stage near the center, leading me to think that this wasn't always just a warehouse. But now, it was just a bunch of empty space. Nothing more. Curly spread out his arms wide, and announced, "And here are my plans."

"Do you hang out here on a regular basis, or . . . ?"

He snorted. "No, but I've been workin' on it. Cleanin' it out. It looked a hell of a lot worse before, trust me. It's come a long way. Not a lot of people know about it. Not even Tim."

It had potential, I supposed, but for what, I wasn't too sure. "It has a long way to go. . . . What're you planning here, Curly?"

He wrung his hands together. "Well, first off, I'm gonna need your help. If you're gonna move in with me, then I'm gonna need your help here."

And . . . there it was. I knew, I _knew_ this arrangement wasn't going to come without strings attached. Oh well, as a fellow criminal, I knew the score. You had to be tough, you had to be smart, and you had to manipulate to get what you wanted.

I laughed dryly, without humor. "And there's the catch." He shrugged without any particular contriteness. "What kind've help are we talking here?"

"Help me fix this place up." I scanned the area again doubtfully. How much could I truly help? And for _what?_ "Get 'er up and running, like it was a good fifteen years ago. We'd be the owners," he finished with a lopsided grin.

He was dancing around the issue. Clever boy, but I wanted to cut to the chase. "That's all well and good, but owners of _what_ exactly?"

"A club. A club for greasers like us to party hard. Buck's ain't all it's cracked up to be. It ain't that big. Now . . . _this?_ " He brandished his hands to scope the entire area. He _was_ right. This area was _far_ bigger. "To make money, we could make people pay to enter. Not a lot, though, we don't wanna chase 'em off."

It was difficult to admit, but I was slowly liking the idea. His ideas weren't by any means _sane_ , but I wasn't exactly a law-abiding citizen. Plus, the idea of running a business with my new boyfriend sounded pretty damn fun.

"What would this involve?" He tilted his head to the side, coaxing me clarify myself. "Like, would we be serving alcohol?"

"That's what I thought. Maybe gettin' some live performances, if we can, or a DJ. Maybe even if strippers, if we're lucky." He shrugged again as I rolled my eyes at him. "We couldn't get caught, but ya know the trade."

"I know the trade." I had to address the most pressing issue. "How're we going to get the money to start all this? This ain't gonna be cheap. You know it, I know it. I don't think we're gonna be gettin' loans from any bank."

Curly genuinely laughed. "I'm a Shepard, Kris. I have connections, believe me. I have people in my debt, people in Tim's debt. If you're willin', then I can make this happen. I'm just gonna need your help."

Smirking coyly, I made my way over to him and wrapped each arm around his neck. "Curly Shepard, lemme get this straight. First, you ask me to move in with you. Then, you ask me to run an illegal club with you. I gotta tell you, man, you have a whole lot of nerve."

He ducked in close, and his dark eyes were smoldering. I could feel his smoke-smelling breath pelting against my face as he said, "I think that's what you like about me, Kris." I stubbornly remained silent, but I couldn't bite back a cocky grin. "So, yeah, I am askin' you all this. What do you gotta say about it?"

This was the moment of truth, my opportunity to back out. "I say . . ." I lay my hand on his cheek, and beamed at him. "Hell yeah."

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! How do you think Kris's relatively rash decisions will affect her?**


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